Written by Katie Gomez

Dan Mirkin, co-founder and CEO of Trade Ideas, is a master of watching the day-to-day factors of trading and the climate of the stock market overall. In recent online posts, he claims that people quit trading for many reasons: trading is too complex, inconsistent, or overwhelming, but the most common feedback he observes is that it’s just “too hard.” While some people’s personalities and lifestyles are better equipped to trade than others, trading is not easy for anyone. This common misconception of trading being too hard is because nobody sees their progress. Your historical trading data that shows you how you are doing is vital for improvement. Every trader is held responsible and accountable for their decisions in the market, but those mistakes are rendered useless when we can’t see where we went wrong. 

It is easy to get distracted as a trader, primarily since most traders work at home or remotely. The seemingly little things you fail to catch can lead to critical consequences, such as: not selling your stock high before it plummets or missing out on a potentially massive investment opportunity before it hits the news. No matter how focused you are, it is impossible to absorb every piece of information from market open to close, nor should you be expected to. 

The ability to track your progress as a trader is of the utmost importance because, without those lessons or validations, we have no idea where we are in relation to where we want to be. Trade Idea’s innovative Brokerage Plus module (included with all subscriptions) allows you to communicate with your account and account metrics, so you can see how you are doing from moment to moment. In addition, Brokerage Plus allows you to see what you might be missing, where you’re excelling, and where other improvements can be made—this way, you can maximize your portfolio’s earnings. 

In this recent video, Mirkin shows us his portfolio using Brokerage Plus. One of the most essential yet overlooked features included is the column called profit change in the last 5 minutes. This column sorts his portfolio into which positions are up the most and which ones are down, relative to the most recent stock market update. This column works in real-time to show the trader things they might miss, moment to moment, throughout their day. Additionally, the user can alter or animate this column to make it unique to their risk management style. It is a super simple but critical factor in your attention to detail.

Brokerage Plus users can get the most information possible in real-time to expand, edit, and improve their past or future trades. For example, this chart trading position would show open P&L close P&L profit factor, # of open positions, winning %, average win/loss ratio, exposure, and current shares. Moreover, our program encourages traders to stay on top of their trades by utilizing tools like stop losses. 

Stop losses take away the emotional impulse decisions traders often struggle with; again, letting you to work smarter, not harder. The information displayed is clear, organized, and aesthetically pleasing to the user; that way, it becomes increasingly difficult to miss critical things. 

Trading is not “too hard “for anyone with the right tools, attitude, and mindset. Sure, it takes practice, patience, and time to excel and earn consistent profits, but it’s becoming increasingly more accessible with new technology. If you can be patient and put constant effort into elevating your trading skills, you’ll see it gets easier over time. Most people that say trading is too hard are those that tend to give up when things aren’t going to plan or their beginner’s luck ran out, but like anything in life, those who succeed are the ones who push through anyway. 

When your motivation or inspiration to continue trading runs out, discipline and consistency must replace it so you remain laser-focused on your goals, even when you run into failure. The stock trading industry, like the market, is constantly evolving, and the trader who is up to date with the latest features, programs, and tools is set up for success.