Is The Stock Market Rigged?

Investors rightfully wonder if there is rigging in the stock market. Technically, the answer is, of course, no, there is no rigging in the stock market. However, there are some real drawbacks that you will need to overcome. If you have been following many online trade services platforms, you would have been acquainted with them. Let’s examine some of them here, which may help you navigate the market’s future turmoil in turn.

Capital

From US-Reviews, it has been realized that the most significant disadvantage small investors face is capital. If you don’t know how the stock market operates and you wish to compete with giants in the field, you might find yourself being edged out. A more prominent client will negotiate lower prices on commissions and fees compared to the average investor.

Besides, the average investor does not get the same opportunity to subscribe for an IPO that an institution does. The hot IPOs are well-reserved for the preferred clients: hedge funds and pension funds, and too high net worth individuals. Only when all the select clients have been offered to subscribe to the IPO would the average investor get a chance to invest. At that point, you would have to question an investment in an IPO that all the major clients have rejected.

Political Influence

How many individual investors have direct access, or have paid lobbyists to look after their interests, to elected government officials? These financial companies still exert tremendous influence over our political process, despite the government’s financial institutions’ apparent vitriol during the financial crisis. Of course, in Washington, drug, tobacco, and technology firms also exercise political prowess. Many former government officials end up landing large corporate jobs and vice versa. As new laws come into being, most of us aren’t decision-makers and do not have a seat at the table. To do this for us, we rely on our elected officials, who are the very same people who big investors influence.

Mitigation Strategies

Don’t worry; there are ways the system can work or increase your awareness of it, but it takes effort. Information is at your disposal, albeit not always time enough to matter. The internet has become the small investor’s equalizer. Financial-based websites can help small investors out of the financial markets create heads or tails. Set aside an hour a week to review business news and trends and read the research reports and profiles on sites such as Yahoo! Finance and CBS Market watch that are readily available. Besides, regardless of how much you like your own business, it is essential to keep a watchful eye on your investments and set a stop loss. Many people are wiped out of the stock market because losses do not stop their investments. Many investors are more of ‘ passive’ investors type, using diversified index funds and investment strategies. Regardless of your style, it’s good risk management to monitor your investments.

Conclusion

For the average investor, the stock market is technically not rigged. However, Wall Street’s money managers have undeniable advantages over us: timely access to privileged information, enormous amounts of capital, political influence, and more fantastic experience. These obvious disadvantages, although intimidating, should not dissuade you from achieving your investment goals. You can overcome these imbalances and still be successful in your investment endeavors by carefully monitoring your investments and taking risk mitigation measures such as stop losses and keeping informed of general investment themes or trends.