IT Set Up?

I am newbie and am currently trading on my phone etc. as I believe you can only use FT via the app. There are obviously some serious investors on here and I wonder how they trade etc and get their background info simultaneously. Surely they don’t do this via their phones only ?? I assume they have multi screens etc. So what IT have the Big Boys got and how does it work. ??? I am non techie so short simple answers will suffice. :grin:

I would assume most people here are casual investors e.g. NOT DAY TRADERS.

Therefore a phone app is probably enough. I personally invest 60% in index funds and ETFs for diversification. The other 40% i invest in companies that I research through websites such as yahoo finance, their own company reports etc.

I think this stereotype of dual-monitors tracking graphs and candle figures is incorrect. The FreeTrade app and in-app information is probably enough for most.

I have a 13% yearly return by the way by just using the app + simple websites. Don’t overthink, just drip your money in consistently :slight_smile:

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The bigger boys wouldn’t use Freetrade, the way orders are executed and a lack of native currency support makes the platform unsuitable … this is intentional. Day trading looses you money in the long run for most people - you’re better to research before you click buy and then close the app and enjoy the day.

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@MJRInvests @NeilB Sound advice guys Thank you. I appreciate your info. I’m already having to try and limit my time on the App. :rofl:

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I use the computer to check other web sites for any research, I just use Freetrade to make the actual trade. I’m not day trading though and I’m not that bothered about up to the minute prices etc.

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Do not get addicted! Your investments should be for a minimum of 5 years in general. Buying and selling shares on a daily / weekly / monthly basis will generally lose you money.

Set an amount you want to invest each month. This is different for everyone. It should be money that YOU WILL NOT NEED IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS.

Then, invest that amount each month into companies you believe in, and then look away until the next month.

It sounds like you may be on the path to stock-market addiction. Nip it in the bud now :slight_smile:

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I use https://www.tradingview.com/ for tracking all the prices of my stocks and crypto. I just paid for the premium service which is 60% off for black Friday. Instead of a dual monitor setup I went for a single ultrawide monitor which I’m very happy with and is equally good for stock charts and gaming.

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I use Yahoo Finance for everything to be honest, and just read the PDFs of the company reports. I even do technical analysis using candlestick charts on yahoo finance!

I have a bot to automatically send me daily emails about all the companies I like, their employees tweets etc etc so I don’t really need dual monitors or anything to pay attention to the markets, just my emails :slight_smile:

I write a lil doc on my investment thesis for each company (which I now publish!) but before I publish it, it’s just bullet points in my phones note app (literally, it’s all in the phones notes app :joy: )

The only reason I’d use a computer was if I was evaluating a software company, I’d want to actually use their software first :slight_smile:

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Is that more aimed at US Stocks or does it cover all UK Stocks as well?

It covers most stocks, forex, indexes, futures from around the world. It’s definitely overkill for a newbie though.

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I’d hazard a guess that the most ‘serious’ investors rarely look at their portfolios. They may or may not have a fancy computer set up.

A trader (and in particular a day-trader) is not quite the same as an investor.

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I look at it every day, I rarely do anything with it but I like to keep my eye on it. I expect many experienced investors are the same, especially as it’s so easy to do with a phone app

Enjoy.

The app is open on average 4 times a day for 5mins each time but active users.

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Very interesting. Coffee/Tea breaks :coffee:

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