Why South Africa has the Best Apps for Trading Stocks

By  //  June 28, 2021

With many people now working from home and seeking alternative ways to make an income, trading in stocks has become increasingly popular. Once you needed to buy physical shares from a stockbroker, but you can now trade online on the price movement of stocks, giving heaps more flexibility.

One country where stock trading by private investors is booming is South Africa. Analysts say 100,000 people there are now investing online in the markets. These are not professional financial consultants and investment specialists – instead, they are ordinary folks confident of putting their knowledge and trading strategies to good use by investing in the best stocks.

Most trading is done on apps provided by specialty brokers, so it’s no surprise to find the best of these are meeting the demand in South Africa. But what is a trading app?

Trading Apps to Buy and Sell on the Go

Trading apps allow you to buy and sell in a wide selection of markets. There are traditional shares in the stock markets from around the world, plus you can trade on fluctuations in the stock markets themselves, such as the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) All Share Index.

If you prefer, you can place Forex trades, where you speculate on the price movement of one currency against another, like the GBP/USD pair, where you might predict the price of the American dollar will rise against the British pound. Cryptocurrencies will also be listed.

And, just like in real exchanges, you can trade on the price movement of commodities. Mainstream commodities are things like gold, copper, silver, and crude oil. Some brokers might offer more obscure commodities like the price of coffee, cocoa, or sugar. These are the price of the raw materials, of course, not the products you take off the supermarket shelves.

Why South Africa has so Many Stock Trading Apps

By definition, an app is available to download on your tablet or mobile devices. That means you have access to your trades 24/7, no matter where you are. The flexibility this gives is essential if you take your trading seriously, like those in South Africa clearly do.

Never miss a trade

Firstly, it means you may never miss an important trade. Let’s say you are out and about in your favorite restaurant when you get wind of an imminent contract win announcement from a leading South African company.

You feel sure this will cause a spike in the share price, at least in the short term. If you only had access to your trades via a desktop computer or laptop, you’d be stuck. But with an app, you can log in wherever you are and execute a ‘long’ trade on the company shares, which means you are speculating that the price will increase (were you to sell, you would go ‘short’).

Now you can enjoy your meal and maybe watch the share price go up in front of your eyes!

Be informed

Private investors will not get very far by using guesswork. To be successful when trading in stocks from South Africa, you must be up to speed with market news and trends. The best stock trading app in South Africa will have a section dedicated to the latest market news so that you can be prepared to capitalize on key events.

It’s not just breaking news: the South African investment enthusiasts are hungry to learn new strategies and tactics that they can use to make more profitable trades. This can vary from the financial management of your trades (like adding a stop-loss) to spotting price movement trends.

Analytical tools

While trading on events is all well and good, often the most profitable price movements have already happened before you manage to log on and place your own trade. Because of this, many traders use tools that can help them to identify common price movement patterns.

The ability to bring up a graph with the price over time, then add lines and algorithms to identify a pattern can be invaluable. And the technique works across just about any market, from stock exchange indices like the FTSE 100 or the NASDAQ to currency trades or individual stocks.

Payment methods and support

Discerning traders need fast deposit and withdrawal methods, using various well-known payment gateways, be it debit cards or e-wallets like PayPal or money transfer. Fast access means you can load your account quickly if you need to execute a quick trade. But it also works in reverse, meaning you can get swift access to the cash in your account if you need it.

Brokers supply good payment options to keep customers happy and offer a full suite of support methods should they need any help, including live chat, email, and phone support.

Only the Best Trading Apps Will Do

With such a discerning customer base, it’s no surprise that South Africa has the best apps for trading stocks. Each has the benefits outlined above, all conducive to better trading on the go.