Ganesh Chaturthi is a time for celebration and enjoyment. As we prepare to bring Lord Ganesha home, a quick look at the essence of the festival! Did you know the significance of the four hands of Lord Ganesha? In one hand, Lord Ganesha holds the axe which represents the annihilation of ignorance. In another hand he holds a rope, which symbolizes your journey towards knowledge and discovery. In the third hand, Lord Ganesha holds a lotus which represents self-realization or enlightenment. Finally, his fourth hand holds the Modak, which is a sweet delicacy. The Modak basically symbolizes happiness and joy, which can be material and non-material.

This Ganesh Chaturthi, we present to you 10 Modaks (benefits) of online Investing !

It is simpler and gives greater control over your Investing actions
Whether you want to buy or sell equities and derivatives, an online trading platform gives you greater control over the order placement process. You can define the price and the quantity you want and get it exactly at that price. That is much more convenient than calling up your broker or walking into your broker’s office to execute transactions. You can execute the transaction from the comfort of your home or your office itself.

It works out more economical for you
Brokers will be willing to offer you lower brokerage rates if your trade online and most brokers do. That is because, for a broker, sustaining an online broking set up is more economical than maintaining a branch set up. These benefits are passed on to you. When you are an investor/trader in the market, brokerage costs matter a lot in your final analysis and are therefore more profitable.

You can make a more focused Investment when you are doing it online
If you call up your dealer to place an order, there is only so much time that the dealer can spend with you. Obviously, the dealer needs to cater to the calls of many clients. Online trading overcomes that problem. You can first read up the research and decide what you want to buy and at what price. Then you can check the depth and volumes on the screen and then place the actual order.

Geography is not a constraint; you can place orders from virtually anywhere
When you are trading through a dealer, it does become a hassle when you are travelling. You are short of time and you may not be able to get through to the dealer. You may have to spend on STD or roaming charges to constantly be in touch with your broker. Alternatively, online trading platforms can help you access your Investments from anywhere and at any time. In fact, your online trading is also supported by a mobile interface so you can execute on the fly by logging into your account from your notebooks or smart phones.

You end up making more informed decisions as an online investor
The advantage in online investing is that you have access to all the information, research and blogs at the press of a button. Most of the research nowadays is actionable and directly synced with your trading account. The analytical screens in the trading platform also help you to make informed decisions after a rigorous comparison of alternative options.

Online investing is a seamless process; end to end
Many of us do not realize the essence of this advantage. When you trade online your trading account is automatically linked to your bank account and your demat account. Therefore, debits and credits to your bank account as well as debits and credits to your demat account happen seamlessly. You do not have to worry about cheques and debit instruction slips.

The online trading account becomes a one-stop solution
There are a variety of additional facilities that come with your trading account. You can monitor your order book and your trade book with the click of a button. You can also check your demat status from your account itself. Additionally, you can monitor profitability and ROI under various parameters. Above all, the profit/loss statement can also be exported for your tax filing purposes.

You can also place orders when the markets are closed
This is again a facility that an online broker will offer you. What do you do if you have discovered a wonderful investment idea at 10 pm in the night? In online trading you can place the order at 10 pm itself, although the order will get executed on the next trading day. You can even define the price at which you want to buy and that gives you added flexibility in operating your trading account.

It saves you a lot of routine clerical work
If you are a regular trader, then this activity requires a lot of routine clerical work. Filing your contract notes, keeping a tab of your demat statements, maintaining your profitability statements, reconciling bank & demat statements and calculating your STCG and LTCG can be quite cumbersome. Online trading maintains all these documents online which you can access anytime with the click of a button.

The bottom-line is that online investing will result in better ROI
It has been observed that online investors end up making better Return on Investment (ROI) compared to investors who do the same through phone or through branches. There are 3 reasons. Firstly, you are better informed when taking decisions. Secondly, costs are lower and that enhances your profit. Thirdly, the screeners help you to get the best price and thus reduce your risk.
So, this Ganesh Chaturthi, as you savour the mouth-watering Modaks, also remember that there are tremendous benefits and joy in investing online. Go ahead and make the best of it!