Why Most Stock Traders Are Unprepared For Challenge Posed By Information Age and Digital Era
Transformation of stock market
In the early days, stock trading was conducted through stock brokers and at the stock market trading floors. Telephone was the primary mean of communication and brokers played a very important role in relaying information and facilitating stock trades.
From the late 90s onwards, we see the beginning of information age followed by the present digital era. Increasingly, stock traders are being left on their own and required to act independently and decisively.
Stock trading were no longer conducted on trading floor, instead all trades are now transacted via trading platform, using computers.
In addition, stocks from many part of world are now available for stock traders to pick and trade from the comfort of their home.
Stock traders required to act independently and decisively
We are in the midst of the information age and digital era. In addition to transformation of the stock market, stock traders are overwhelmed with stock market information and data, which are being pushed to them, flooding their mail boxes every day. How useful are all these market information to a stock trader. It depends on his competency, and how knowledgeable he is. Whether he has the capability to process them promptly and turn them into reliable trading decisions.
This poses new challenge to the stock traders. Many of them are still struggling to cope with their stock trades, and are simply not ready to deal with the situation. Many traders, who lack the capability to conduct due diligence on market information received, often resort to “blind trading”. They will trade faithfully on stocks recommended by brokers, bankers, stock analyst and newspaper reports, believing that this is the right thing to do.
In short, bigger market, more stock choices, explosion of information and traders are squeezed to make timely and reliable trading decisions. Today’s stock traders must be trained and possess the capability, to exercise due diligence, exercise own discretion, make independent and reliable trading decision.
