If you have short-term prospects on the market, you let your emotions take over. That's where the online companies fall short. They don't have that personal relationship that's needed. Online trading has taken some business away from brokerage firms, but not much, said Russ Kelley, manager of the Merrill Lynch firm on North College Avenue in Fayetteville. He said too many pitfalls loom for fledgling investors.
Day trading can be pretty complicated.
I think there are cautions people ought to consider. Those include over-concentration in a portfolio, such as only technology stocks vs. an even distribution of equities and bonds, Kelley said. Many Northwest Arkansas residents have shied away from online investing, Johnson said. There's not a lot of that here. In contrast, Fayetteville and Springdale have more day traders, he said.