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iPhone Spread Betting: When Spread Betting Met the iPhone

iPhone Trading
Written by David

Mobile trading iPhone spread betting platforms are geared to play a major part in the future of financial trading. It allows traders to trade on the move from a variety of mobile devices, and with much of the same efficiency and flexibility as a desktop application. Mobile trading appeals to active traders for whom staying in touch with the market, and responding instantly to market movements, is important. Trading via a mobile or WAP device is not a new concept – in fact some providers have supported mobile trading for more than 6 years but in the past it was crippled by limited technology and small screens.

Smartphones…I am amazed by the amount of people buying smartphones and wherever you go everyone is on them… Everyone wants one, lots of us already use one. They have become a dependable lifeline.

Today, better and more sophisticated technology is quickly making spread betting more accessible than ever before. With iPhone spread betting applications and similar software for other devices, such as Android and BlackBerry phones, spread traders can now bet whenever and wherever they want whether on buses, trains, cafés or walking the dog; applications for the iPad and other tablets are expected to be continue to be improved in 2013 as well.

Mobile is probably the fastest growing segment for consumer technology today – and this is mainly thanks to smartphones and tablet computers. In fact, market research by Gartner suggest that worldwide sales of mobile devices amounted to in excess of 440 million units during the third quarter of 2011, up 5.6% year-on-year.

Irrespective of what the iPhone is doing to traditional media, it remains without doubt one of the most best-selling smartphone in the world and this is likely to continue for sometime. The iPhone choice is, really, simple; if you don’t mind being corralled into Apple’s world, it’s for you. The number of apps is, of course, legendary, and it simply does loads. All under Apple’s control, though, with the App Store and iTunes acting as gatekeepers.

About a year ago spread betting company City Index decided to launch the first spread betting platform for the iPhone – since then iPhone spread betting has brought something of a revolution in trading. To put this into perspective the City Index mobile platform for instance provides access to the full range of markets and order types that are available on its web platform and the City Index City Trading iphone application now accounts for 15% of all City Index trades!

With a number of increasing markets being quoted round-the-clock by some spread betting providers having instant access to streaming prices seems a no-brainer. With iphone spread betting you can react instantly to changing market conditions with just a few clicks of a button. But is the future of spread betting mobile trading?

With faster broadband connections and instant accessibility to market information, the total flexibility of iPhone spread betting and mobile trading platforms can empower you to make use of trading time in a way you never had before. Lengthy, arduous train journeys and waiting queues can all be transformed into useful time spent researching market movements, checking trading positions and even analysing charts. And in this respect picking up a mobile phone or tablet is definitely much more convenient than logging on to a PC or laptop. With a typical mobile trading platform you can check charts or keep track of your profit and loss and even fund your account via the mobile platform. In fact, mobile trading even allows you to open and close trades on the go as well as adjusting stops.

Along with the extra freedom and opportunities that iPhone spread trading has introduced, it has also created extra dangers and some traders need to be careful so as not to commit those pitfalls – in particular the risk of over-trading. For instance, the concept behind mobile spread betting is that it provides instant access to the markets wherever you are – however this very advantage can be a disadvantage if you are more prone to open or close a trade on impulse. This is because the more you look at prices moving up and down the more likely you may be tempted to make impulse spread bets.

Taking on trades without doing proper research and analysis is a no-go in spread betting and market analysis in such circumstances is even more vital. This is why it is important for traders to stick to their plan and have strict rules for entering and exit trades and this, coupled with discipline should mitigate the risk of overtrading. In fact, as a general rule, you should strive to always analyse the market you are thinking to trade before spread betting, irrespective of whether you decide to execute your trades via a mobile, iPhone or online trading platform. Trading on emotion is never a bright idea so it pays to know your price targets, entry and exit points, risk-reward expectations and stop loss levels with every trade to help you approach your mobile trading or iPhone trading with a more disciplined approach. In this respect setting up stop loss orders and limit orders can also prove to be a good way to managing your trades when you are away from your desktop computer as this removes the need to continually having to monitor your positions.

As well as allowing you to trade on the move, iPhone spread betting applications also make market analysis easier, permitting you to keep abreast of market movements, charts and financial happenings in your spare time. This research and market monitoring is invaluable and can help ensure that your spread betting is based on hard facts as opposed to instinct. In the past most traders utilised mobile apps to close spread trades but this seems to be changing now. Spread bettors today are more inclined to enter trades using their mobile handset and in some cases they also use it to help their research. Some mobile apps, like the one from City Index even have customisable charts for identifying past chart patterns and present set-ups in real-time, but also live, streaming news.

Mobile platform users have to use the trading tool carefully and responsibly, as with anything online. Spread betting and trading in general should not take over your life or family – and whatever your life commitments there will be moments when it is not possible to be in front of a trading screen when a decision has to be made. Cutting losses early and allowing your profits to run is a common adage in theory, but how is it possible to preserve that level of control over your trades when you are away from your computer? The answer is in mobile spread betting and iPhone spread betting is undoubtedly proving a valuable tool in many traders’ and investors’ trading arsenals.

Mobile spread betting exploded in popularity in 2010 and this trend is likely to continue in 2011.  Case in point, IG Index, one of the bigger spread betting companies stated that more than 50% of IG’s 450,000 monthly mobile trades are done via an iPhone and this represents about 14% of the typical monthly volume. Whichever way you look at it, mobile trading is here to stay and it is only going to get bigger, especially as the younger generation who have grown up with smartphones start to trade.

Many providers including Capital Spreads, CMC, IG Index, GFT and City Index now offer customised tablets apps that are designed to take full advantage of the superior experience offered by iPhone and iPad devices. Most recognise that the technology has advanced and mobile platforms are no longer just an ancillary device to monitor quotes; and increasingly more traders are using them to open and close trades.

Obvious benefits of mobile trading are accessibility and the ability to react to market moves wherever you are. It is just so convenient – you can monitor trade, check market news, set alerts and view charts plus many other functions all from your smartphone! Gaining access to a desktop computer is no longer a barrier to trading.

About the author

David

I first cut my teeth in the Square Mile in the winter of 2002. I was young, fresh-faced and straight out of university; keen but maybe a little naïve about the way the investment world really worked… A few years ago I discover a whole new world of opportunity: spread betting on the financial markets.

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