Kliment Dukovski

I’m an expert in technical analysis of price charts, and I need sophisticated trading platforms to make trading decisions. That’s why I chose Interactive Brokers (IBKR) and use both its desktop and mobile app daily. But even though IBKR offers decent charting features, I avoid it and use StockCharts.com instead, which is more clean, intuitive and easier to use than IBKR’s charts. What I like about IBKR, though, are the research tools. I use its fundamentals explorer for every company I intend to trade or invest in. The explorer shows information about social sentiment, financials and analyst ratings from Refinitiv (Reuters) and TipRanks. These alone cost hundreds of dollars annually to subscribe. As an IBKR customer, I get them without any additional cost.

The main difference between investing and speculating is the amount of risk you take. Investing often comes with lower risk because it typically requires a more detailed due diligence of the company or instrument you’re investing in. Speculating, on the other hand, comes with a way higher risk. Some even consider it gambling. An example of speculating would be buying shares of a company that has been consistently burning money. But the company announces a new product that could finally earn a profit. The goal of speculating, in this case, would be to sell the shares as soon as the product comes out, regardless of whether it will be successful in the future.

Understand that there is a high probability you will lose your money. This is especially true if you trade on margin, which is on borrowed money from the broker. Will losing your money affect your lifestyle? If the answer is yes, it may be best to pass or wait until you have money you’d be willing to lose. But if you feel like you’re missing out, consider starting small — and avoid trading on margin. If you’re right and the stock does go to the moon, you’ll have more money to keep going. Just keep in mind — for every trader that has earned wild amounts of money, there are many more that have lost their entire life savings. One phrase that traders in the community love to repeat is, “Sir, this is a casino.” It pretty much sums it up.