The latest trend in investing, online trading, actually played a role in the correction. Stocks are usually sold and bought through brokers who charge their investors a commission for giving investment advice. Recently, several firms have been offering discount brokerage, in which the brokers perform the transactions without offering advice to customers. The Brown Investment Group trades in this way. Using the Internet has now become a method of trading.
Investors can log into their portfolios using a password and buy and sell online.
ETrade and Charles Schwab offer Internet services. It's definitely the wave of the future. On the day of the correction, however, such a large number of investors tried to log on to sell stocks that the online brokers soon became clogged, causing many people to lose money. Leifer agreed that online trading is a good way to invest, but cautioned that the Internet still has drawbacks. You only need a password to access the portfolio.