What Tools Stock Investors Want

The investing industry has changed tremendously within the past decade. Not too long ago, stock investors had to rely on sources like the good ol’ newspaper to read about what was happening on Wall Street - but like most industries these days - modern technology has taken the stock market by storm.

With a smartphone in the back of basically everyone’s pocket, investors have the ability to stream quotes at any time, be notified of stock market news and company updates instantly, chat with other traders, and more - all at the touch of a button. The point is...stock investors have access to A LOT of information and tools...but what do they want to see more of?

If you haven’t heard yet, we conducted a stock market survey so we could find the answers to questions like this one - and we would be happy to share our findings with you. To compile accurate results across the diverse board of the investing community, we surveyed a total of 400 individuals across three unique audiences: a General Online Audience, surveyed on Facebook; a Business Professional Audience, surveyed on LinkedIn; and, an Active Investor Audience, surveyed on Barchart.com.

We found that out of all the options the three audiences could pick from, the most desirable tools that these individuals want more of include: free trading, free real-time quotes, top stock picks, investment research, trading education, and tools to find stocks.

Free Trading

While free trading has become quite accessible with companies like Robinhood forming, people still want to see the same commission free trading available within their desired platform. This is a valuable asset because individuals are able to cut down on the amount of apps/platforms they require and streamline all the features they need into one platform.

Free Real-Time Quotes

Real-Time market data used to be quite a costly service but they’re increasingly being offered for free through online brokerage platforms. Investors want to know the exact price of a stock at a moment-to-moment rate, and the need for precise real-time data is becoming more and more vital in today’s stock market climate, so more folks are looking to strictly use services with free real-time quotes available.

Top Stock Picks / Tools to Find Stocks

In many cases, investors don’t want to spend a large amount of time analyzing and keeping track of stock market data, that’s why tools such as top stock picks and tools to find stocks are becoming popular among trading services. Within their desired platforms, individuals would like to be able to easily find stocks and also have access to a bevy of top stock picks from a trusted, professional source.

Investment Research

Investment research needs to be rigorous and up-to-date, and requires not only an extensive amount of time - but also money. Individuals would like to see investment research included within their platforms and services to relieve themselves of the time and financial burden of producing high-quality, reliable investment research.

Trading Education

Investors vary in experience. Some people would like to start from scratch, while others may want to begin investing in an asset class they’re not familiar with. Whatever the case may be, there is a ton of data and tools available on investing platforms, but individuals want to be offered more educational information in order to expand their knowledge.

After analyzing and comparing the results, we think it’s safe to conclude that in general, stock investors value tools that increase the accuracy and knowledge of their investing, and also ones that save them time and money. A stock investor needs access to good information - bonus points if it’s free - but that information is useless if said investor doesn’t have the proper trading education to use it.

Financial media, personal finance, and any firm that caters to stock investors can easily take advantage of this information, and other conclusions in the report, to enhance their own products and services in order to engage these investors. To download the stock market survey, please click here. To use and explore Barchart’s own tools and features made available for retail investors and traders, including both free and premium services, please visit www.barchart.com.