The past two years have been pretty rough so far: the ongoing pandemic, protests, lockdowns, global economic meltdown, USA-China tensions, the acceleration of climate change, and a new US administration.

But what about trading? Are the key strategies worth it in 2021? What are the best brokerage platforms to use in 2021? Will Exness mt5 trading terminal stay relevant?

In our thought leadership piece, we take a broader look at this year’s situation around the trading sphere.

The most prominent general tendencies in the trading industry in 2021 are:

• cloud-based trading platforms are becoming highly popular;
• trading apps are one of the main trends expected to become more prevalent in 2021 since they keep mobile trading services available at any time and anywhere;
• individual investments are growing;
• Gen-Z and Millennials are getting more interested in trading.

Most usable trading strategies in 2021

Day Trading

Day trading is potentially the most common active trading technique. When day trading, as the name suggests, an investor buys and sells securities within the same day with no operations held overnight. Typically, this method is performed by pro traders. Nevertheless, the possibility of trading online has made this practice available for beginner traders as well.

Position Trading

Position trading applies day- to month-long charts combined with other techniques to calculate the directions of the current market. This trading strategy usually lasts from several days up to several weeks or longer, depending on the market trends.

Traders who practice position trading try to determine the market’s direction without forecasting any price levels. Often, position traders go for the trend that has already established itself, exiting the position as soon as the trend ends. Thus, in periods when the market is highly volatile, this method may be more challenging, and its positions are commonly reduced.

Swing Trading

A breaking trend is strictly when swing traders get involved, buying or selling, as the price volatility kicks in when another trend comes to settle itself. Swing trades often last more than a day.

While an algorithm applied in swing trading doesn’t have to be precise, as it predicts the high or low of a price move, it certainly does need a market moving in one direction or another. So, a range-bound or sideways market is considered to be risky for swing traders.

Scalping

Scalping is a quick strategy performed by active traders. Basically, traders identify and exploit bid-ask spreads that are wider or narrower than usual due to short-term supply and demand imbalances.

Rather than exploiting significant moves or transacting high volumes, a scalper capitalizes on smaller frequent moves with measured transaction volumes. In this way, since the average profit per trade is quite low, scalper searches for relatively liquid markets to increase the frequency of the fulfilled trades. Unlike swing traders, scalpers choose quieter markets that are not vulnerable to sudden price fluctuations.

Brokers trending in 2021

Exness

Exness keeps on surpassing new milestones as the company has been staying in business for more than 10 years already and operating in different markets. Exness Singapore and Asia projects are among the prioritized ones.

The broker specializes in financial instruments such as Forex (over 120 pairs in total!), Crypto, and precious metals. Traders gravitate towards this trading platform due to its high regulatory standards, including FCA and CySEC, among a few others, a variety of customizable account types, each with its own financial instruments, tight spreads, and low minimum deposits.

In addition to its exceptional operational standards and a secure trading space, Exness is also known for its superior customer service that operates in 13 languages and is reachable via email, live chat, or phone 24/7.

TD Ameritrade

TD Ameritrade is one of the largest online brokerage companies that has made significant efforts to make its platform convenient for novice traders. Education is a vital component of the company’s offerings. TD Ameritrade offers an outstanding in-person training program provided at more than 280 offices nationwide (the US only) in addition to multiple training opportunities ranging from beginner to advanced, available both on the company’s website and mobile app.

The broker’s Thinkorswim mobile platform features extensive options, including real-time data streaming and the ability to trade from charts. The mobile trading app is almost identical to the website, which makes for a totally smooth transition.

Betterment

Betterment is a robotized advisor that is ideal for a “set-and-forget” trading, so it might not work with users who want to take an active part in the trading process. Still, the platform is an excellent choice for novice traders and more cautious investors.

Betterment lets traders pick an upfront investing strategy and then runs it on autopilot guided by professional advisors to secure the maximum return.

The broker has multiple account types to choose from, from a taxable brokerage account to a Roth IRA account or even a Simplified Employee Pension IRA (SEP IRA) account.

The expanding geography of trading in 2021

In recent years the trading industry in Japan, Singapore, and Australia has been hitting levels never witnessed before. According to the Bank of International Settlements, Singapore currently holds the 3rd place in the list of world’s biggest trading hubs, after London and New York.

Taiwan now ranks among the countries with the most powerful forex reserves, mainly thanks to the enormous foreign investments flowing into the country.

China is also experiencing a boom in the trading business, with brokerage companies introducing effortlessly netting trading amounts of 90,000 lots per month.

These days, regulators operating in Japan and Australia have initiated a cooperative effort to guarantee that forex brokerages in their countries synchronize marketing efforts with their local markets to ensure better regulation with local practices.

Many modern brokers have adopted the practice of opening multiple offices in order to adhere to local jurisdictions and gain better access to regional markets.