Online share trading (OST) is growing in popularity as the digital revolution makes the stock market more accessible to ordinary investors. OST platforms enable smaller investors with little experience in trading to buy and sell shares on their own – something you needed to hire a broker for in the past.

If you have internet access and a computer or smart device, you can now make OST part of your overall investment strategy. However, if you have no share trading experience when you start, you should proceed with caution. The value of shares can fall as well as rise, so a return on your investment is never guaranteed. Blindly buying shares online without first evaluating their risks versus their potential returns is like gambling.

That’s why stockbroking became a business in the first place: stockbrokers are experts who study market trends, trying to work out what events make any category of stocks rise or fall – so that they can adjust their trades accordingly, lowering their clients’ risks and maximising their returns. It’s important to remember that OST is not a get-rich-quick scheme – to make solid returns you need to trade wisely, with some knowledge of the forces affecting various stock market categories.

Free educational courses and real-time information

Nedbank Online Share Trading is designed to make it easy for you to add OST to your investment portfolio, even if you have no previous experience. Our OST platform gives you access to free educational courses and stock market research that is updated regularly. These resources allow you to start small and grow your investment at your own pace. Even before you log into your account, the platform has a market outlook page giving you key information on the latest market performance.

You have access to a complete database with information on all listed companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The platform offers JSE share price information and the market depth of the JSE order book in real time – so you have a live view of what a stock is currently worth, what offers to buy or sell that stock are in the market and how many orders there are for it. You also get price data of major global indices, prices of precious metals and major currency exchange rates, price and volume graphs of JSE shares, in-depth company research reports, and daily market reviews. These resources enable you to familiarise yourself with market information so you can buy or sell shares wisely.

You can also create a trial account to use for 30 days, while you learn the basics of OST. You won’t be able to make any real trades on your trial account, but it is an effective way to get to know how OST works.

How to get started managing your own OST

To create an actual trading account, you will need a Nedbank ID. You can open a trading account as an individual or on behalf of an organisation. If you are trading as an individual, you will need to be at least 18, have a valid South African identity document and a bank account in your own name. After you complete the online application, you’ll need to supply additional documents for FICA purposes.

Once your account is set up, you’ll get a dashboard showing you how much money is in your account to use for trading. It’s possible to link several trading accounts to a single profile that you can access with a single login.

Nedbank OST opens the door to a diverse range of investment opportunities, with low monthly admin and brokerage fees, and no minimum balance – and you can access your investment at any time. It also gives you the flexibility to decide how you want to manage your investments – you can opt for hands-on, self-managed trading and save on the cost of processing transactions or outsource managing your OST to one of our expert portfolio managers.