Electronic trading platform

Electronic trading platforms are usually mobile-friendly and available for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Android, making market entry easier and helping with the surge in retail investing.

[2] In this case, platform is used to mean a type of computing system or operating environment such as a database or other specific software.

[4] The first electronic trading platforms were typically associated with stock exchanges and allowed brokers to place orders remotely using private dedicated networks and dumb terminals.

In 1971, Nasdaq was created by the National Association of Securities Dealers and operated entirely electronically on a computer network.

[7] In the late 2000s, with the emergence of digital tools, a new generation of investment companies started to appear, which began to offer services to assist non-professional investors in trading.

[9] Trading systems evolved to allow for live streaming prices and near instant execution of orders as well as using the internet as the underlying network meaning that location became much less relevant.

[11] Decimalization was instituted in 2001 by the SEC, requiring market makers to value financial instruments by increments of $0.01 as opposed to the previous standard of $.0625.

[14] To help consumers make decisions about their contracts, trading platforms frequently include recent news.

Articles on certain businesses may be included, as well as updated ratings provided by independent companies that focus on particular commodities.