September 1, 2021
1. Do you have one or more online trading or investment accounts?
Yes, I have one or more accounts that I access using a mobile app.
2. If your response to Question 1 is Yes, do you think you would trade or invest if you could not do so online using a computer or using a mobile app?
Yes
3. On average, how often do you access your online account?
Once to a few times a week
4. On average, how often are trades made in your online account, whether by you or someone else?
Once to a few times per month.
5. If you access your account online, did you have the account first, and only began to access it electronically later? Or did you open the account with the idea that you would access it electronically immediately?
I downloaded an app or visited a website first, and then opened up an account with the company
6. My goals for trading or investing in my online account are (check all that apply):
Save and grow my money for short-term goals (in the next year or two)
Save and grow my money for medium- to long-term goals
7. What would you like us to know about your experience with the features of your online trading or investment platform? (Examples of features are: social networking tools games, streaks, or contests with prizes points, badges, and leaderboards notifications celebrations for trading visual cues, like changing colors ideas presented at order placement or other curated lists or features subscription and membership tiers or chatbots.)
I've found that most of the features on offer by trading platforms I've used serve only as a distraction and add no value (intellectual or monetary) to my investing experience. Whether they're games or celebrations for trading, these features don't aid in my forming a novel perspective around my financial decision making process, so I do my best to ignore them.
8. If you were trading or investing prior to using an online account, how have your investing and trading behaviors changed since you started using your online account? (For example, the amount of money you have invested, your interest in learning about investing and saving for retirement, the amount of time you have spent trading, your knowledge of financial products, the number of trades you have made, the amount of money you have made in trading, your knowledge of the markets, the number of different types of financial products you have traded, or your use of margin.)
9. How much experience do you have trading or investing in the following products (None, 12 months, 1-2 years, 2-5 years, 5+ years):
Stocks : 5+ Years
Bonds : 5+ Years
Options : None
Mutual Funds : 5+ Years
ETFs : 5+ Years
Futures : None
Cryptocurrencies : 1-2 Years
Commodities : None
ClosedEnd Funds : None
Money Market Funds : 5+ Years
Variable Insurance Products : None
Business Development Companies : 2-5 Years
Unit Investment Trusts : None
10. What is your understanding, if any, of the circumstances under which trading or investing in your account can be suspended or restricted?
I've read my broker's terms and conditions, so I am aware of how for example, an ACH reversal or margin call, can adversely affect my account standing.
11. What else would you like us to know positive or negative - about your experience with online trading and investing?
I feel that wider access to financial markets for people of all socioeconomic strata is a net positive I used to have very little money to save and the ability to purchase fractional shares of an ETF was a boon to my ability to set something aside for tomorrow. However, I feel that the gamification of trading platforms creates an environment in which an individual's long term goals (if they've even formed any at the outset) are decoupled from their experience on the trading app as they're bounced between one notification and the next. For someone like me who uses a 'set and forget' investing method I feel that some platforms encourage me to 'set and reset and don't forget and reset...' etc, the latter being, in my view, detrimental to my long term financial wellbeing.