Yes, Internet trading is easy. Loading a gun is also a breeze. Playing hopscotch on a freeway? Piece of cake. Just because something is easy doesn't mean it cannot be detrimental. As a matter of fact, naked access probably further buries important risks and disclaimers.
So if Jerry is happy rolling up his clothes in a ball lakeside and doing a skinny dip cannonball into the piranha pond, that's his ouch.
The odd thing here is that Jerry and I were both making the same opening argument. Blazing through a blank list of concerns was exactly the case that I was trying to make. That's what makes taking on the Autobahn after landing your learner's permit so dangerous.
Online, Jerry writes, one can "check the status of your orders after you've placed them, check real-time quotes, and do any of a number of other operations." The way Jerry ordered the functions is no accident. I am fairly sure that most investors -- and, sadly, speculators -- spend more time on their online accounts placing orders and checking real-time quotes than taking on any "number of other operations" like, I don't know, RESEARCH!
Now, before I get outed as a hypocrite, let me reveal that I've been trading online since 1990. That's right, before the Internet was the Internet and America Online <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AOL)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AOL)") end if %> was America Online, I was swinging computer trades on GEnie's text-based interface and using Fidelity's FOX software. I wish I hadn't. In a frenetic state of mind, like a freshman at his first frat kegger, I let myself go. I might be the only person who lost money in 1991's bull run.
I'm sober now. I understand the medium. I respect the ramifications. Online brokerage accounts are a wonderful thing. I can't deny that. But it is only amazing when tempered with comprehension and some degree of apprehension.
It's not for everybody. Some liquor cabinets deserve to be under lock and key. It's all about embracing the potential without getting sucker punched by the risks. If you're trading online because of the vast amount of research at your disposal, I'll hold the door for you. If you're lulled solely by the convenience, sadly there is no one there to card you on the way in -- or help you find your pants on the way out.
Trade responsibly. Don't prove me right.
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