The traditional stock trading experience has changed drastically throughout the past few decades, and in reality, the trading we see today would look completely alien if we were to go back in time and show the average stockbroker.

Despite this, few people actually realise just how different the trading experience of today is when compared to times past, and some even hold the view that any changes to the industry have been minuscule. Well, this is just not the case.

In this article, we will be telling you about how technology has changed the amateur investor's experience whilst trading, as well as going through a few of the most notable differences between the trading experience of today and times past.

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Precise Instruments & Tools Allow Us To Take a Look At The Markets At a Deeper Level

Back when the stock market first became widespread, the tools people had to track and follow the markets were incredibly basic. It was nearly impossible to monitor the markets with any noticeable degree of accuracy, and even though said tools were good for the time, they seem primitive to what we have available to us now.

The amateur investor can go onto any trading site and get an in-depth look at a stock’s history, get access to second-to-second price changes, and even look at specific days and weeks to see how a stock may have been altered by some kind of development.

All of this makes for an incredibly precise trading experience for an absolute beginner, and newcomers to the industry now have access to better tools than seasoned professionals from just a few years ago. Of course, this is only useful in as much as someone can make use of said tools, but either way; having them there is an incredible advantage.

No trader has to go into an investment blind due to the various tools we have at our disposal now, and we can track the markets with better accuracy than ever before.

Investing Is Now Easier Than Ever

Out of all the different ways that technology has affected investing, perhaps the most obvious is that of increased accessibility. Almost anyone with a half-decent PC can invest now, and when you pair this with the fact that most trading sites have streamlined their services as much as possible, it begins to become obvious why investing is so accessible.

Just twenty years ago, the only people that could invest to any noticeable effect were the professionals or the extremely wealthy. Most people were not fortunate enough to be able to afford a PC for their home, and on top of this, there were few traders out there that were offering their services to the wider public (and those that did were usually extremely difficult to use, meaning only a minuscule portion of the population could even utilise said services).

You no longer have to be a professional stockbroker or a wealthy businessman in order to partake in investing. No, the average person can now jump into investing at just a moment's notice, and the number of people partaking in the stock market is at an all-time high.

Predictions Are Now Exceptional Guidelines

Everyone knows that it is impossible to accurately predict the markets. With the number of factors and variables that can affect the price of a stock, any hopes of making a precise prediction are relegated to the top echelon of investors, and the chances of an amateur investor being able to predict the markets are practically zero.

Well, with the technology we have available to us now, this is no longer an issue. Of course, AI and complex algorithms are not able to predict the markets to the fullest extent (or else we would all be rich beyond our wildest dreams), but what they can do is give amateurs a level playing field with their more knowledgeable peers.

Technology can now allow amateur investors to get a rough estimation of where the markets are heading, and in reality, these predictions are much more accurate than what the pros were making just thirty years ago.

This can serve as an exceptional guideline to newer investors, and it may even be able to reduce risk when compared to going in with absolutely no information at all.

So, were you surprised to find out just how different the amateur investor's trading experience is now when compared to just a few years ago? If so, you are certainly not alone. Very few people know just how much the entire trading experience has changed throughout the years, and in all truth, the trading experience of today would be unrecognisable just a few years ago.

The possibilities that technology has been able to open up for us are truly extraordinary, and it seems as though we are only just scratching the surface. Who knows what the trading experience may look like just a few years from now, it may just be something nobody could have expected. It's going to be an exciting decade.