(Reuters) – Fidelity Investments has introduced a significant upgrade to its trading platform to cater to the increasing demand for new tools among individual investors.
The newly launched Fidelity Trader+ Platform provides real-time analytics, customizable charts, and various features aimed at the company’s most active traders.
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“We’re excited to welcome you to a new business,” stated Josh Kulgman, senior vice president at Fidelity’s brokerage. This demographic tends to favor customizable analytics tools for trading individual stocks and funds, enabling them to monitor their portfolios in real-time.
This enhancement aligns with a broader strategy among brokerage firms to capture more retail investors, a trend that has significantly influenced the market since the pandemic began.
Earlier this month, Robinhood Markets unveiled Robinhood Social, a community platform where users can exchange strategies and tips. CEO Vlad Tenev refers to it as a “Financial Super-App.” Meanwhile, Moomoo Financial is also making strides by securing access to high-demand IPOs like Gemini Space Station and Bullish, as noted by an executive speaking to Reuters. Notably, Robinhood’s IPOs in 2021 were mainly directed toward retail clients.
Other retail securities are increasingly accommodating overnight and around-the-clock trading.
Though it can be challenging to gauge how much daily trading volume comes from retail investors, Marco Iachini, senior vice president of research at Vanda Group, mentioned that his findings suggest this group makes up about 8% of all stock trading dollar value. This is double that of popular retail stocks such as Nvidia and Tesla, which is significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels.
A report from Citadel Securities claims that nearly 20% of trading activity recently stems from retail investors, especially those engaged with hot IPOs. This demographic has also been pivotal during market pullbacks, particularly during recent turbulent times.
“Retail investors have been buying the dips and gravitating toward premium stocks like Tesla, which has worked out well for them,” Iachini observed. He further commented that this trend strengthens their “buy the dip” mentality.
The demand for tools that support active trading by these individuals is on the rise, especially among those who traditionally opted for low-cost index funds and may now prefer professional guidance from hedge funds or algorithmic trading systems.
“The expectations from these clients are quite high,” noted Fidelity’s Kulgman. The firm has also introduced fractional ownership of CDs, or certificates of deposit. Another recent initiative allows active traders to invest in customized portfolios akin to individually managed accounts for a minimum of just $5,000, a significant decrease from the previous requirement of $100,000, according to Kulgman.
