Both amateur and pro stock investors need to from time to time test their trading ability, when you trade ‘test trade’ you are directly improving your overall trading ability.
The best place to learn how to trade without spending real money is using a stock market simulation app.
There are numerous simulator apps out there, this makes it difficult for you to find a good app as almost every simulator app is promising quality.
This article contains information that will help you identify the best stock market simulator app but first;
Read also: Get More Results With Best Apps To Learn Stock Market
What are stock market simulators?
A stock simulator is a platform that gives users a near-real life experience of stock trading. Users are given a certain amount of ‘fake money’ to invest.
This fake money has no real-life benefit. When you earn from simulators, you are a winner technically (because you are improving your trading ability), but when you lose, you are not a loser because you are not losing your real money.
There is no risk in using simulators, money spent are fake, you only get an opportunity to grow.
Why use a stock market simulator?
- Look at stock market simulators as testing the water before you dive in, or warming up before a basketball game. It is a good place for investors to practise before investing.
- Simulators will also help investors develop and test their trading strategy. A good simulator will help users learn and master the basics of investment.
- On a simulator, you are allowed to make as many mistakes as you want, correct your mistakes and build your future trading strategies. Most simulators use real life analytical tools like price, debt, and financial ratio. Here are 4 reasons to try a stock simulator.
- It offers an opportunity for you to learn about the stock market. Most of these platforms help you get real investment education, they come with resourceful articles, demos, tutorials and a community of other investors like you where you can ask questions and get clarification.
- It offers safety to investors who want to learn the mechanics of trading as well as an opportunity to build their portfolios. It’s just like learning how to drive in an abandoned parking lot. Simulators allow rookie investors to make all the mistakes they can make without suffering the financial damage.
- A good simulator has market simulator alerts to notify users on changes in the market just like it is done in the real market.
- You will be able to implement your strategy on a simulator. If it works then you can go ahead and trade real life, if it doesn’t, you won’t be affected financially. Testing a strategy before you buy is going to give you a soft landing in case of loss.
- If you nose dive into strategies like futures and commodities and foreign currencies (forex) and shorting stocks and trading options without first testing on simulators, there’s a good chance you are going to lose your fund.
- Using a simulator before trading will help you train and control your emotions. When you have the opportunity to trade for long, you will be able to master your emotions. According to Warren Buffett;
One of the keys to being a successful investor is the ability to control the emotions that lead other investors astray.
- Even though trading on simulators and trading real life are two different ball games, your brain absorbs them the same way, it is like watching a horror movie, you know it is a horror movie but you get frightened when a scary scene comes up.
Key Qualities of the Best Stock Market Simulators
There are numerous stock market simulators each promising user’s amazing experience which makes it difficult to pick out the best. Here are some factors you should look out for when choosing a simulator;
First, remember that you are trading because you want to get a feel of real life, so the simulator you pick must closely resemble the real market. If the simulator doesn’t look like the real thing when you finally transit into the real market, you will be lost in reality.
It should allow users to buy and sell in real-time, this will give you access to advanced securities and order types.
A good simulator should make securities available just like the real market. Buying and selling stock on simulators is fun since you are not losing real money.
However the stock market goes beyond just transacting in stock, there are other conservative strategies you should try out, strategies like buying and holding ETFs and mutual funds.
A good simulator should allow you to explore all these other strategies. You should be able to trade triple-leveraged ETNs and hold mutual funds for 40 years. This feature is what makes the best free market app.
Finally, a good simulator should have useful research tools and stock charts. Research is essential to keep an investor going, when you stop carrying out research, you will lose focus.
So, research tools are important whether real or fake. free market app binance is one simulator you should consider.
Best paid market app
The best paid market app are apps that meet all the characteristics above. They should be user friendly with a strategy that helps traders grow.
They should also serve as a cryptocurrency buy/sell app, and provide resources like a candlestick chart, candlestick formation, and daily graphs.
Bottom line
“When it comes to investing, we want our money to grow with the highest rates of return, and the lowest risk possible. While there are no shortcuts to getting rich, there are smart ways to go about it.”
– Phil Town
I am certain that using simulators to taste the water before diving in can be classified as one of the ‘smart ways’ Phil Town was talking about.
Using a simulator or universal market app is an amazing way to learn and grow without spending your money. So, no matter how you look at it, it is never a bad idea to use simulators. Except of course, the time spent on simulators, but in Warren Buffett words:
“The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.”
“Practice makes perfect” is the best advice you can give to a new trader. What better way to practise than on a stock market simulator where you won’t be losing real money?
It could be a virtual trading platform or a stock market game. You can learn, and build your strategy, but above all, always remember that it is a simulator, and no matter how real it may look, it is never going to be like the real thing.
You are going to react differently in real-life trading because real money is involved.
The idea behind simul is to allow you to absorb the market without feeling the burn of losing money. But remember simulators are only fragments of reality.
No matter how long you spend using simulators, or how many strategies you have built on a simulator, it is a good idea to start small and grow with time.
Don’t worry, there is always an opportunity to invest more money as you grow.
About Author
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- I'm a professional digital marketer with over 7 years of experience in the field. I create well researched content related to finance, cryptocurrency, stocks, forex and metaverse related articles.
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