By Yael Warman

The revolution is upon us. Mobile technology is taking over every facet of our lives, enabling remote activities in almost every sphere and activity. But, is it good for your trading? The answer might surprise you.

Does the mobile platform work as well as non-mobile?

Technically, it should work just as well. But the potential for technical issues is greater for mobile than non-mobile. Most would find that their home internet is quite stable and that the potential for poor connectivity is more likely with a mobile option when on the go. This creates a very real potential for poor execution, or no execution when trading in an area that has poor connectivity. For certain types of trading, this is enough to limit the effectiveness (or “mobileness”) of mobile trading.

A significant secondary aspect that is often overlooked is how data is captured on mobile, specifically the logging of activities on the phone. With non-mobile trading, your computer keeps a log of your attempted trades and whether it signals an execution. So when there is a dispute about technical matters with your broker you can support your argument using your logs. This is generally not the case with mobile, which means that if you made a trade and the system said that it executed, but was not picked up by the broker, you can’t prove that their system was at fault.

Not such a big deal? Think about if this was a hedge position because of a low margin, or a close that you ignored for a day or two because you thought the position was closed. It can be a very, very big deal.

Will I be able to do my analysis on the mobile platform?

You can, but generally not in the same way. For non-mobile trading you can generally use the platform to undertake your analysis. Historically, this has not been the case for mobile, although there is now increased capabilities on the actual platform available. But if your platform does not offer what you need, you can simply use other apps or websites to supplement your analysis.

Once you get adept at using the mobile offering or working around the platform shortcomings, it is generally not a significant issue.

How will being mobile impact my trading?

You can make a trade in your bed,
or standing on your head.
You can make it in the bath,
or whilst wrestling with your friend, Garth.

Bad Seussian rhyming aside, we have a good and bad thing going on. Sure you are mobile, and can make a trade at your convenience. But will this convenience tempt you to trade when you are not in the right mindset to make trades? Of the options in the rhyme, none are ideally conducive to being in the right mindset for trading (unless you can handle Garth easily or being in a bath is part of your strategy).

Handling this is the most significant challenge for traders. We love to trade and the access gives us that chance to do what we love. If you are able to exercise the restraint and stop yourself from making impulse (aka bad) trades at inappropriate times, then the access mobile provides is a good thing. If you can’t, it will be apparent very quickly that mobile is more of a detriment than a bonus.

Ultimately, this is the critical factor in mobile trading, not whether it is inherently good or useful (because it definitely is both). The critical factor is whether you can handle the access and still make smart, profitable trades.

About the Author:

Yael Warman is a creative writer with a strong background in marketing and advertising. Yael has been a writer for over 10 years and has worked for clients in various industries as well as her own companies and is currently the Content Manager at Leverate.