The Uptake Of Trading During

UPTAKE OF TRADING

2020 has been a year of uncertainty and change. With millions of workers across the country being furloughed or losing jobs due to the knock-on effects of the pandemic, daily routines have been upended in both personal and work lives, leading many of us to find ourselves with more free time on our hands and new habit choices to make.

This will likely be the first time that many people have had enough spare time to ask themselves what they really want to do and actually do something about it. Although this is undoubtedly a challenging time for the majority of us, we may never have this extra time to educate ourselves or upskill in the same way again.

Education platforms have taken great pride in helping customers try new things during lockdown. By providing materials to help users’ upskill to find new opportunities, online courses have been an ideal way for many to retrain and learn new skills in an affordable and accessible manner on topics they may have once thought were out of reach. It would seem many have done just that when it comes to retail investing.

This year alone, we’ve seen over 20 million new students globally sign up to Shaw Academy courses and over the past year, we have seen a huge boom in the number of users partaking in our trading and investing courses in particular. The financial courses we offer have consistently remained on our list of top performing courses accessed during the pandemic, with many students looking to level up their knowledge of financial markets and commodities and get into trading.

The financial industry is one of the many industries that falls foul to the ‘education gap’. Finance, when in relation to trading in particular, is not something taught during secondary education. In order to upskill in this field, prospective traders need to access helpful learning materials either directly in the industry whilst gaining first-hand experience or via some form of tertiary education.

The recession this year has led to huge volatility within the stock markets. While this level of instability might not fill savers with confidence, it does make for a stock market that excites and tempts those who have been waiting on the side-lines looking for an opportunity to take the plunge into retail trading and investment.

Just a few months ago, retail-trading platforms such as Robin Hood were reporting huge increases in the number of daily average revenue trades, representing a shift as people at home decided to try their hand at day trading. This increase, in addition to the announcement from TD Ameritrade revealing that visits to its website providing trading advice nearly quadrupled since January, lead to CNBC publishing a feature advising those who wanted to try day trading to do so with care.

When it comes to trading there is always risk involved. However, if you factor in lack of knowledge and training as well, that risk quickly intensifies. Individuals looking to trade cannot remove all elements of risk from learning how to do so safely, but they can offer themselves a greater deal of protection by taking the time to learn and understand the trade. It has never been more important to make great education accessible and affordable to everyone for this very reason.

Personal trading ambitions aside, the rise in individuals wanting to learn how to trade responsibly is a benefit for the economy. As we rebuild from the recession and see long-term, structural changes to global trade emerging, we need to lower the aforementioned ‘education gap’ and barrier to entry for this new, refreshed generation of retail and institutional investors.

It isn’t just a rise in overall financial literacy that we are seeing. Data shows this year, the uptake in courses like MBAs has surged significantly. Many new entrants to the job market – and those already in it – are looking to understand how they can better position themselves within the job market to protect themselves from redundancies and restructures, during such a turbulent and uncertain period.

Regardless of the reasoning behind the sudden surge of interest in financial courses, one thing is certain: the implications of an increased number of retail investors on the wider financial markets is huge. While these traders may not be moving huge volumes on their own, each investor is helping to move the dial on the market, whether it is falling in their favour or not.

Prospective traders should ensure they treat their initial entry into trading with respect, caution and control, going out of their way to ensure they are prepared for the undertaking in developing practical skills and gaining the necessary expertise and undertaking accredited courses to move forwards with confidence, both professionally and personally.

James Egan, Founder and CEO, Shaw Academy

Source: 1 https://www.shawacademy.com/ 2 https://www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/ section/2/152861/Stock-app-Robinhood-surpasses-rivalsin-monthly-trades 3 https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/21/many-people-turn-today-trading-in-pandemic-few-will-be-a-winners.html