Best stock trading platform in Nigeria

Modern online trading platforms allow users to invest in various financial markets from the comfort of their own homes. All you need to trade online is a computer (or mobile phone or tablet), access to the internet and literally a few dollars to get started.  A good trading platform offers low commissions, innovative tools for analysis and trading, access to current and constantly updated market information, and the ability to make all necessary investment transactions online. The best online brokers offer all new and improved versions of their trading software, so you're sure to find the best online trading platform for you.

How to choose the best online stock trading platform in Nigeria? This will be discussed below.

Criteria for choosing the best online equity trading platform

To choose the best stock trading platform in Nigeria, you should first check the list of brokers that offer their services online and provide a platform for online investing opportunities. Fortunately, the brokerage market in Nigeria offers a good selection of brokerage companies, so you will have a good choice.

Filter out the list of all available brokers and leave only those that are licensed to conduct brokerage activities. Your goal is a reliable brokerage company, so having a license is a must. Among the licensed brokers, choose those that have good feedback from experienced traders as well as a good business reputation and high praise from market experts. You can easily find all the information on the internet, just use only trusted sources of information.

Once you have decided on several brokers, it is time to compare the online trading platforms they offer.

How to choose the best equity trading platform?

Based on the needs of most traders who already have experience in the online trading market, we have highlighted the main points that they stress the importance of. These include:

• easy and convenient registration on the platform;
• user-friendly interface;
• accessible deposit and withdrawal options;
• low commissions and transaction limits;
• availability of quality analysis and trading tools;
• flexible personal settings;
• providing feedback.

All of these points are very important, and we will look at why below.

Easy registration

Brokerage companies have made the process of registering with an online trading platform as simple as possible, so that you will not be discouraged from trading before you have even tried it. That's why most platforms have a very simple registration process, which eliminates the possibility of you failing at this stage. It's simple: go to the main page of the broker's website, click the registration button and fill in the registration form, entering the minimum set of personal data (user name and e-mail). The link to confirm the registration will be sent by the system to your email, which you indicated in the registration form - click on this link, thus completing the registration process on the platform.

What is important at the registration stage?

Use only the official website of your chosen broker to register. If you download a mobile trading app, also use only the official Playmarket, which is installed on your mobile device. Do not sign up using third-party websites that may pose as a brokerage company, otherwise you may fall victim to fraud.

At the initial stage, you do not need to go through complicated verification and enter your personal details (passport or payment card details). However, the platform may ask for additional verification at the stage of withdrawal of funds from the trading account. This is a security and safety measure for your funds, so you will have to verify yourself by following the system's prompts - it is easy and uncomplicated, but ensures the protection of your accounts.

Demo account available

Having a demo account is probably one of the key features of a quality online trading platform.

You will be motivated to start using a free demo account. The system automatically credits a certain amount of dummy funds to this account so that you can make your very first trial trades without the risk of losing real money. Usually the amount of fictitious money is more than enough for you to practise in the beginning. Should it turn out that the practice operations were ineffective and you do not have enough test money, you can usually recover it and try again.

The value of a demonstration report cannot be overemphasised. It is an exact replica of a real account, the only difference is that your actual funds will be in a real live account. So with a demo account you can obviously see how the system works: the best way to buy or sell stocks, learn how to use different trading tools such as multiplier, stop loss and so on, but at the same time you are not risking your personal funds.

Naturally, you cannot withdraw cash from a demo account.

Give preference to platforms which offer the possibility to use a demo account.

Affordable and convenient deposit methods

When choosing a platform, pay attention to the deposit and withdrawal methods available on the platform. Give preference to platforms which cooperate with reputable and reliable international payment systems.

So, to start real trading on the investment platform, make a deposit to your real account. Generally, the minimum amount to deposit into a live account is generally low, allowing you to start trading without having much capital.

You should always remember that trading is a risky business, so if you are inexperienced, start with a small amount, so that you will not suffer any major financial losses if you fail.

You can usually withdraw from your account in exactly the same way as depositing, using the same payment methods or bank card.

Tools for analysis

Traders always rely on the results of analysis, either fundamental or technical.

Fundamental analysis is based on the actual reports, financial and production performance of the company in which we invest. For this purpose, traders use the economic calendar as well as the "market analysis" and news sections.

Modern, quality platforms provide access to current economic news, and you will be able to customize the display of the news by placing it as an interactive feed right on your trading room screen. This way, you won't miss important events that can influence the price of your chosen asset.

Technical analysis, which is commonly used by day traders and medium-term investors, is based on the use of technical indicators for analysis.

Technical analysis indicators are algorithms that provide data on future prices using quotes over a specific time period. With the help of automatic indicators available on platforms, traders analyse price dynamics on charts.

The availability of analysis tools is an important aspect when choosing an online equity trading platform. Therefore, give preference to a platform that provides access to the indicators, news and market analysis section that you need.

Tools for trading

Trading tools that simplify and automate part of the trading processes on the platform or provide additional features when investing are additional benefits of good trading software.

The most popular of these are stop orders, with which you can set upper or lower trade limits. These are stop loss and take profit orders respectively.

Stop loss is an order to the broker to "stop losses" if the price goes against your position to a certain level.

Take Profit is an order to automatically close the position at a profit if the price reaches a predetermined level. 

Stop orders are usually set in cases where the trader cannot continually monitor the open trade or expects sharp price movements.

By setting trading limits you can protect your trades to a certain extent, protecting yourself from huge losses when the price falls or being able to take profit when the price rises in seconds.

Another popular tool among traders is the multiplier function on the platform, which automatically enables the leverage. All you have to do is choose the multiplier you want and activate the option, and you will be immediately leveraged.

Using leverage is strictly not recommended for new traders! You must be experienced enough to use this feature, because leverage increases the risk of a trade.

Choose a functional equity trading platform that can provide you with all the tools you need to trade comfortably and safely.

Settings section

It is very important that your work on the platform is not only successful, but also comfortable for you personally. Different types of trading, different approaches, use of different indicators in analysis, as well as different perception of colours by individual traders - everyone has their own personal preferences and needs for quality work, but these people use the same trading platform. Personal platform settings are helpful, as they allow you to customize your trading software to your needs and to your taste.

The flexible options available on today's trading platforms allow you to customize the colour scheme of your screen and quote charts, choose the number of windows you wish to display on your screen and the size and location of those windows. You can select a chart type, such as a line or candlestick chart, bars or Heiken Ashi.

Also, in the settings section you can set up the notifications you want, which will come in the form of browser notifications on the screen (or push notifications if you are using a mobile app), emails to you or even phone calls.

You can also set up different keyboard shortcuts for faster operation.

When choosing a platform, be sure to check the "settings" section to get an idea of how comfortable your work can be on that platform.

Feedback

Of course, any platform, even a very user-friendly and functional one, should have a support chat. Ideally, it should be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Even if you are an experienced trader and have been trading for years, you might need help in case of some technical problems or advice on, say, withdrawing funds.

So make sure you look out for a "Support" button before you make your choice.

Of course, choosing a trading platform is not a hundred percent guarantee of your trading success. Trading is a risky activity and requires constant concentration, the ability to analyse the situation, to understand the intricacies of the stock market and to be able to make quick and accurate decisions.

But nevertheless, with all the features and facilities it offers, the platform is a powerful tool in a trader's hands.

Follow our advice and choose the best trading platform for stock trading in Nigeria. Open a demo account today and test the platform of your choice yourself - it's free and available to everyone!