How Do You Trade? A Guide to Getting Started in Financial Markets

Trading is an art that involves the buying and selling of different assets. This art form has been around in the world since the start of time. It has evolved greatly since its inception and found its way into almost all parts of our lives. With the advent of technology, trading has become very competitive and is based on various mathematical and statistical models that offer profit-making opportunities. Financial trade is carried out through trading platforms where a trader makes an account, deposits capital, and starts buying and selling the asset of their choice. These platforms offer several technical analysis tools and indicators that can be used to form viable financial decisions. 

There are many different types of financial trades and even more types of asset classes that can be traded. The financial markets and their trading are associated with quite a few definitions and concepts. This article will cover everything you need to know about the financial markets, their key players, and more. 

Understanding Financial Markets

There are many different types of financial markets, each based on certain asset classes. These asset classes are as follows:

Stocks (Equities)

Stocks represent ownership in a company and offer growth potential through dividends and capital appreciation. Although considered a higher-risk investment, they provide higher returns over a long-term holding period. Common examples of stocks include shares of companies like Tesla, Microsoft, or Apple. 

Bonds (Fixed Income)

Bonds are debt instruments in which one party lends money to another in exchange for periodic interest payments. This asset class is generally low in risk and provides a stable income for the period discussed. Treasury bonds are an example. 

Cash Equivalents 

Cash equivalents are highly liquid and low-risk investments that provide the quickest access to cash but with lower returns. They are ideal for keeping for a short period of time. Examples may include money market funds or certificates of deposit (CDs) in a bank. 

Alternative Asset Classes include:

Real Estate 

Real estate is a great asset class. It includes investments in physical properties or real estate funds. Rent and potential property appreciation in the long term offer income. Examples include residential or commercial properties or Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).

Commodities 

Commodities include physical assets like oil, gold, agricultural products, etc. They can hedge against inflation, offer great diversification to the portfolio, and mitigate risk. Examples include crude oil or wheat contracts. 

Private Equity 

Private equity involves investments in private companies that are not publicly traded. This class is highly risky and often long-term, but it may offer significant growth potential. Examples include Ikea and KPMG. 

Hedge Funds

Hedge funds include pooled funds with diverse strategies to generate returns in any market condition. They are known to be high-risk and are only accessible to wealthy investors. 

We know that the risk profile of each asset class is different and may vary based on market conditions. Here is a list of major asset classes in the ascending order of the risk involved:

• Cash 
• Bonds
• Mutual Funds
• ETFs
• Stocks

Therefore, it is very important to understand how each asset class works and what unique features it offers before investing in it. Based on each of these classes, 

Key Concepts in Trading

To understand financial markets and trading, beginner traders need to understand the following concepts first:

Liquidity

Liquidity is the ease of selling or buying an asset without significantly affecting its price. If an asset has high liquidity, it means there are quite a few buyers and sellers in the market. In contrast, an asset with low liquidity means that not many buyers and sellers are interested in the asset. Low liquidity also means that sellers might need to sell the asset at a lower price than they bought it, which would mean a loss. Thus, a highly liquid market is desirable for quickly buying and selling assets and capitalising on short-term positions. 

Volatility

Volatility refers to the level of price fluctuation of an asset over a certain period of time. High volatility means that the asset prices fluctuate highly, whereas low volatility means the asset price is somewhat stable. Depending on their trading strategies and goals, both conditions may be favourable for different kinds of traders. 

Order Types 

Quite a few types of orders can be placed through a trading platform according to the needs of the trader and market conditions. 

Market Orders

Markets orders execute buy or sell orders on the asset’s current market price. 

Limit Orders 

A limit order is only executed when a certain pre-determined price is hit for an asset. 

Stop Orders

A stop order is a potential sell order used to curb losses. It is only executed when an asset’s price reaches a pre-determined level. 

Trading Strategies and Techniques

Each trader has their own trading strategies and techniques perfected with practice and experience. The best way to improve your strategies is by analysing the asset prices, and there are two ways to perform such an analysis:

Fundamental Analysis 

Fundamental analysis is based on analysing the movement of an asset price based on the economic conditions and the asset company’s performance. These two factors are highly important for any asset as they directly relate to the asset price. So, analysing them can help a trader gain valuable insights into the market and make viable trading decisions. 

Technical Analysis 

Technical analysis includes using technical tools like price charts, patterns, moving averages, RSI, and various indicators to analyse the price movements of the assets. This type of analysis is most widely based on mathematical and statistical calculations. 

How to Start Trading

As a beginner trader, trading can be easy if you know where to start. Following is a step-by-step procedure to you follow for getting started with trading:

Step 1: Set Up Trading Account

The first step is to set up a trading account. Many great platforms are in the market today, but each has something unique. Each platform has associated fees, commissions, features, and security regulations. Do thorough research before settling on a platform. After selecting a brokerage platform, set up your account and provide accurate personal information. Once the platform has everything it needs, you will get an email of your account confirmation and activation. 

Step 2: Learn to Use the Software/Platform and Tools 

Before jumping into trading, learning how to use the platform and its tools is best. This will not only help you have a smooth trading experience but also help you make logical and profitable decisions. Familiarise yourself with the platform’s interface and features like charting tools, technical indicators, and market data feeds. Most platforms also offer demo accounts where you can simulate trading without using and risking real money. 

Step 3: Choose the Companies for the Trade

After thorough research, select a company that aligns with your trading goals, interests, and risk tolerance. Try to understand the driving factors behind these markets and their prices. Pick a few companies at the start and keep your research focused. This will help you make an informed choice. 

Step 4: Develop a Trading Plan

A trading plan is one of the most important trade steps. Start by outlining your goals for the trade and your risk tolerance, and think about your preferred trading style. Your trading plan and style will be refined over time, but it is important to learn from your mistakes and continue learning and researching. Focus on your strengths and develop a well-defined strategy that will help you stay disciplined. 

Step 5: Execute Your First Trade

Once you feel comfortable with your knowledge, the selected company, and the platform, execute your first trade. Deploy risk mitigation strategies to minimise loss and monitor your trade closely. Use stop-loss orders, position sizing, and portfolio diversification to avoid mishaps. 

Risk Management in Trading

A good trader’s most important trait is managing risk effectively and beforehand. Trading and investing come with innumerable risks, and quite a few strategies exist to avert those risks. Here is a list of risk management techniques that you can use:

Position Sizing

Position sizing is allocating the appropriate amount of capital for a given position or trade. Thoughtful position sizing can help you gain profit in any given scenario, even if a few of your trades are bearish. This is because the risk or loss from such trades gets cancelled out by the profits made from other trades. Some might say that the whole profit game in trading depends on position sizing, so before you place your orders, ensure that you have given your strategy a good thought. 

Diversification

Diversifying your portfolio is often talked about for a very good reason. It is inadvisable that a trader should only invest or trade in a single asset class because of market volatility. Investing in a single class can be very dangerous if that class crashes, so will your whole capital. This is why it is always advised to invest in different assets and asset classes to avoid the risk of market volatility. This will also help you understand and gain experience with other asset markets. 

Stop-loss Orders

Stop-loss orders are probably your biggest allies in trading. These orders do exactly what their name suggests; they stop the loss by stopping the order. When putting a stop-loss order, the trader inputs a certain price value that indicates that if the asset price goes below this, a sell order should be executed, and the profits should be kept. You can input various factors in your stop-loss order and customise it. 

Trading Platforms and Tools

Trading platforms have become incredibly advanced today. Following are a couple of the most important trading platforms:

MetaTrader

MetaTrader is probably the most famous trading platform among traders because of its robust capabilities and tools. The platform integrates custom indicators to assess the markets and monitor price movements, detailed reporting tools, and unmatched automation for efficient execution.  

PU Prime

PU Prime is a globally recognised platform offering competitive trading conditions and access to various commodity markets, including CFDs on crude oil, gold, silver, and agricultural products. The platform is designed to cater to traders of all experience levels, with a user-friendly interface and advanced trading tools such as Autochartist for market analysis, real-time data feeds, and robust risk management features. PU Prime also provides comprehensive educational resources, daily market insights, and multilingual customer support, ensuring traders are equipped with the knowledge and tools to navigate the complexities of the commodity market effectively. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced trader, PU Prime offers a secure and dynamic trading environment to diversify and enhance your portfolio.

TradingView

TradingView is a popular and intuitive platform offering powerful charting patterns analysis and more. However, it is important to clarify that this platform does not facilitate trading but only offers valuable tools and analysis trades. This platform also offers built-in, community-created, and experienced correlation indicators that can be used to assess trades. Users can create custom indicators and visualise their spreads to identify entry and exit points. 

These platforms offer several technical analysis tools based on mathematical and statistical algorithms that offer valuable insights into trades and help traders predict the markets based on historical data. Following are a few of the most important trading tools:

Price Charts 

Price charts are among the most important tools in any trade. They portray the asset’s price movements over time and can be used for many analyses. The most useful is drawing and anticipating trading patterns that hint at possible trend reversals. 

Order Books

Order books are a real-time list of all buy and sell orders placed within a specified time period. They provide traders important information on supply and demand, market liquidity, and support and resistance levels. 

Technical Indicators 

Technical indicators are great for markets as they offer mathematical insights into trade and pattern developments. 

Relative Strength Index (RSI) 

The relative strength index (RSI) measures overbought or oversold assets. RSI measures this momentum on a scale of one to a hundred. If the RSI value is below 30, the general sentiment is that the asset is oversold, whereas if the RSI is above 70, the asset is overbought. Using these metrics, traders can potentially place their entry or exit points in a trade. 

Moving Averages (MA)

Moving averages show the overall market direction over a period of time. They are especially effective when the duration is over 50 days, as they are mostly used to identify long-term trends. 

Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD)

MACD, or moving average convergence divergence, explains the overall market trend and momentum strength. If the MACD line crosses above the signal line, the signal is considered bullish, but if it crosses below the signal, it is considered bearish. 

Economic and Market News

This is one of the most important tools that you can use to monitor price changes and what affects these changes. You can use the built-in news feed on your trading platform or access generally available news from TV, online applications, and more.

Regulatory Environment and Compliance

All major markets of the trading world are closely monitored for compliance purposes because trading is highly regulated. Therefore, very important for traders to follow trading regulations and avoid situations where their portfolios might be at risk. Each country, market, and platform might have its own regulations, but generally speaking, the basis of each is more or less the same. These regulatory framework governing bodies are not to be taken lightly; for the sake of trading, a safe and secure environment should always be maintained. 

With the advent of technology, trading has become very competitive. It is based on various mathematical and statistical models that offer profit-making opportunities. Financial trading is carried out through trading platforms, where a trader opens an account, deposits capital, and starts buying and selling the asset of their choice. These platforms offer several technical analysis tools and indicators that can be used to make viable financial decisions. 

Traders can use quite a few different ways of trading and asset classes. Each trader was a beginner once, and with time and practice, traders gained experience and could perfect their trading strategies. We recommend doing your own research, staying updated with news, and using demo accounts to gain valuable insights and experience in the ever-volatile trading world.