Technology for investing

Technology has changed the way a businessman does his business or an investor invests in various asset classes. The change in the case of the latter has been quite radical. Gone are the days when an investor had to fill up application form with his own hand and submit the completed form at the broker’s office to subscribe to an IPO. For buying a stock from the secondary market, the investor had to place an order with a broker over the phone and then wait for weeks to get the physical delivery of the shares!

Today, sitting in the comfort of the house or office, an investor can subscribe to IPOs and NFOs or buy shares or mutual fund units in the secondary market at the click of a mouse or swipe of smartphone screen. The time to get the delivery of the stock or fund units in the demat account is just a couple of days.

But technology has moved far ahead and now there are many more conveniences in the hands of an investor. Asset management companies (AMCs) have apps that enable an investor to transfer the idle funds in the savings bank account of an investor to the liquid fund of the AMC. Also, the online trading platforms of brokers now facilitate investing in SIPs of mutual fund schemes and even stocks.  

Not only that, one can also get latest status of your portfolio along with your asset allocation, risk profile, returns on investments and other matrices on the platforms of financial intermediaries. To latest tech kid on the block is the robo advisory service that offers investors advice on setting financial goals, financial planning, advice on mutual funds, and what have you!

Technology has helped reduce transaction costs and slashed transaction time to microseconds. Hence, it is better to be tech-savvy to avoid being left behind and to keep up with today’s world of online investing.