We’re not breaking any new ground when we say that active trading is complex and risky. Between monitoring the markets, tracking orders and positions, conducting research and refining strategies, the challenge can be immense, and there’s always more that traders can be doing to gain that extra edge.
As a relatively new brokerage firm serving active traders, we’ve thought long and hard about the most pressing challenges facing this community. And while there’s no shortage of these frustrations, many of them boil down to the same fundamental truth: the more time users need to spend on the operational and logistical aspects of trading, the less time they have to maximize their performance.
That’s why we strive to serve our clients with streamlined, transparent and intuitive avenues to address or account for these details. To that end, we go to great lengths to create customizable solutions that work for individuals. After all, no two traders are the same. We give them the tools and support they need to clear what they see as their biggest obstacles to trading success. We combine responsive client service with some preemptive measures we’ve taken to provide a more straightforward trading experience, based on our assessment of the most universal logistical issues facing active traders today.
Traders tend to be at their best when they can lock in and focus 100% of their efforts on trading. Let’s explore how a modern approach can help make that happen, focusing on some of the most commonly cited challenges.
Challenge #1: Account Management
- The Challenge – Getting onboarded, wiring funds, pausing accounts and the like can all be handled digitally, without the need for human interaction. When they’re not, it’s the traders who pick up the slack. Sending physical envelopes of paperwork, waiting on hold and chasing people via email are all tedious, time-consuming tasks. Active traders, who are often up on the latest technology trends, tend to find them especially frustrating.
- The Solution – Standing up digital onboarding and account management processes requires more from brokerage firms, but it’s well worth it. Clients receive a simple, familiar experience, with modern functionality like multi-factor authentication. This also requires the broker to do the heavy lifting on ensuring compliance, interfacing with banks and the like. All this takes time, effort and technology, but it can make a big difference for clients who just want to focus on their
Challenge #2: Customization
- The Challenge – Every active trader is different – and their various trading strategies are just the beginning. From how they arrange their trading platform windows to their preferred market data feeds and hotkeys, there are so many ways that members of the active trading community can bring their own approach to navigating the markets. Brokerage firms must be able to support this level of customization while appealing to as many users as possible.
- The Solution – By employing a high-touch approach and offering an array of flexible choices, brokers can strike the right balance. This can include partnering with multiple trading platform providers, thereby maximizing the number of features available to active traders. It can even mean arming traders with significant control over their routing decisions, enabling them to determine what route best fits their needs at any given time, including a payment-for-order-flow (PFOF) route. All this requires brokerage firms to develop solutions that permit the autonomy to create individualized experiences, as opposed to a one-size-fits-all approach.
Challenge #3: Adjustments
- The Challenge – Active trading is, by nature, an incredibly dynamic and volatile business. Unexpected challenges occur throughout each day, strategies evolve and seemingly mundane decisions have unintended consequences. When these things happen, traders need the ability to adapt with speed and precision.
- The Solution – When these unforeseen events happen, brokers need to make every effort to empower their clients to make the right adjustments for themselves. For example, if a client has a sudden, urgent need to short a stock to hedge their open position, the brokerage firm should be ready to provide an extensive inventory of locates. If a client is seeing price slippage in their fills, the broker should be ready to identify the underlying issue and offer specialized routing strategies that could help. Active traders must have trust that their brokers have a well-designed infrastructure with available support that enables them to react to market challenges, come what may.
Challenge #4: Transparency
- The Challenge – Market structure has become so complex – even the most experienced traders might not understand exactly what is happening to their orders once they’re submitted. This also applies to costs – ambiguous or undisclosed rates make it difficult for traders to know what they’re getting into and adjust their strategy appropriately.
- The Solution – Brokers need to make sure they are giving their active trading clients the tools to understand the granular details of their trading. The impact of routing decisions is a good example – not all executions are created equal. When market makers pay for order flow, executions can be a tad slower, which sometimes causes a bit of price discrepancy versus a lit exchange. Stocks with more liquidity are less likely to result in this discrepancy; those with less liquidity are more likely to. Traders should have a keen understanding of how this dynamic is being reflected in the trades they make.
The pricing issue is separate, but relevant for the same reasons. Users need to understand the precise costs of commissions, executions and stock locates – and that those costs vary based on the supply and demand during each trading day. While they can do their own due diligence on these items, they shouldn’t have to. Brokers should be eager to clearly disclose their exact costs, so that their offerings can shine and stack up against the competition based on their merits.
Not one of these solutions will magically solve the challenges faced by the active trading community. But by pursuing as many as possible, brokers can send a powerful message: that they care whether their clients can trade economically and efficiently.
By going the extra mile for our clients, we at Mondeum are working to make that vision into reality. We provide the infrastructure and the tools, so our clients can focus on trading. We don’t claim to be the best broker on the market, or the only one providing these things. All we ask is that curious traders come to us for more information. Hear about the experience, customization pricing and client service we offer – and then decide for yourself how we stack up.
Disclosure:
Mondeum Capital is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a broker-dealer and is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).
Mondeum Capital offers experienced traders access to third-party software to conduct self-directed trading in equities through its ‘Mondeum Pro’ offering. Mondeum Pro accounts are margin brokerage accounts designed for advanced traders with experience trading equities and using margin. Mondeum Pro accounts require a minimum deposit of $25,000.
Mondeum Capital does not make recommendations regarding securities, investment strategies, or account types.
System availability and response times may be subject to market conditions.
