Real Time Markets provides direct access to the floor of the major exchanges, which allows
students to enter into real trades with ultimate speed and accuracy. Both
elements are crucial to taking the most potential profit away from a stock market transaction.
Investors can use the Real Time Markets platform to enter into real trades. The tool enables
a trader to send their buy or sell order directly to the market floor and allows them to bypass
a middle man, which slows the speed of the transaction. A student simply completes
an order form, presses a button and waits for the order to be filled. There's little waiting
time and the tool automatically gives you the most preferable price on your stock or option.
To use Real Time Markets in a real trade, a user must open an account with
Track Data Securities. This is as simple as clicking the "My Trade" button on the top of the
screen and navigating to the "Open Account" tab. Opening an account is neither time consuming
nor difficult; you'll need to fill out a few forms, fax or mail the information, and fund your
account via a check or an electronic transfer. It's a good idea to allow 3-5 days from the time
you open the account until you're able to conduct your first transaction.
Entering a real trade is a simple procedure. You open the "My Trade" tab and enter the symbol
of the stock you wish to purchase. Real Time Markets will then populate the field with the
stock's current price, the bid and ask price, and the volume sold for the day. For a stock
purchase a student only needs to designate the number of shares in the transaction
and specify the action to be taken: buy or sell to open, or buy or sell to close. A trader then
chooses whether they are entering a market order or a limit order, as well as whether the order
is good for the day or until cancelled.
Entering an option trade is easy, too. Once you enter the stock symbol, a user clicks "lookup,"
which provides an option chain. By specifying which option you wish to purchase from the chain,
the information is automatically populated onto the screen. A trader must then designate the
number of contracts, the action being taken, the type of order and the duration of the trade.
Upon completion of the stock or options order form, a user presses the green
"Send" button. Real Time Markets will repeat the order and ask for confirmation. Once confirmed,
the real trade goes to the market and waits to be filled. (You can also halt an order by
pressing the red "Cancel" button.)
Users may then keep up with their trades by selecting the "Positions" tab and choosing "open."
You can watch the value of your stock or option position rise and fall in real time. You may
also see the positions that have been closed in order to see the gains or losses from recent
transactions.
