Armchair Stocks Trading: Democracy in Action

By Viktor Prokopenya, London-based Fintech Investor, Founder of VP Capital

Many professional investors laughed at the crowds buying Tesla stock a year ago. They shorted the stock, looking to make money when it fell down. They stopped smiling when the value doubled and doubled again.

A new generation of investors showed that they could be stronger than money-men. For them, this was not a game about money, it was a lesson that people care about pollution and they want emission-free cars.

There are many different types of democracy, but all of them require the active participation of the people and the freedom to vote.

Now, we are witnessing nothing short of a revolution. Anyone can trade in stocks, shares or derivatives from the comfort of their homes, on mobile phones.

The rise of online trading and the rise of crypto-currency is allowing more and more people to make their voices heard. It is the ultimate democracy.

This week (July 5th 2021), capital.com, a company in which I invested and one of Europe’s fastest-growing trading and investing platforms, has launched a commission-free stock trading product. This is the latest innovation to bring finance to the people.

It will bring about a global democracy beyond borders. The impact of this is far-reaching, and I am absolutely passionate about the new form of social action it will deliver.

How will this work? Increasingly, the voice of the people is being heard in economic decision making, as they are becoming involved in trading. This is bringing huge benefits for society.

Some 77% of the American population believe that too much power is invested in corporations. They believe corporates often do not listen to people, despite the average CEO being paid around 400 times a worker’s salary.

The public has now found another way to exert their influence and express an opinion.

Let us go back to the case of electric vehicles, and the impact of people’s voices. The value of both Tesla and NIO electric cars shot up.

Tesla’s value increased more than all the automotive companies in the world, and its founder Elon Musk now ranks amongst the world’s richest.

This has prompted other motor companies – from BMW to Mercedes, to Porsche to get into the electric car market, rather than continuing to rely on oil and gas. The environmental benefits of this make our planet better.

Connecting the needs of real people to the share price through mobile phones and trading platforms is where suddenly finance comes alive and you have a transformative global democracy in action.

Conversely, traditional CEOs are often motivated by greed, the market, profit and their shareholders – and making sure they do not get fired.

The public is worried about the environment, however. The people’s voice here has driven a rush towards something that will benefit us all.

There are many more ways in which we can get people’s voices heard through the stock market mechanism.

Once people are empowered by their mobile phones and money, you connect leaders to people – and leaders have to listen.

Stock trading is a way of organising a small referendum around the world.

Through this new financial global democracy, we are allowing people to make decisions collectively and ultimately rule the world.

This new world order will make society more efficient and resilient, and create a more agile and responsive democracy.

It is absolutely clear that we need to rise above intranational politics right now. The global pandemic and climate change demonstrate this beyond doubt – these are not local problems anymore. You cannot simply vaccinate small countries or plant a few trees.

The Ancient Greeks practised democracy on a face-to-face level, but society soon became too large for this small-city model.

In the modern era, technology has created a lot of stress for democracy, but it can also deliver good – with this new form of direct democracy.

Decision-making through stock trading apps means that we can solve the world’s problems together.

Critical in this reshaping of the world order is that trading should be completely free for the people. Of course, capital.com is structured to make money – but this new stock trading element will be commission-free. The business will make money through customer loyalty and building out other financial products rather than taking a commission on trades.

Educating people to invest well is also key. Society rightly demands this with any new relationship involving risk. Drive a car, or board a plane, and you are given some level of instruction. The more potential harm, the more regulatory bodies get involved.

Trading can create harm. Yes, it is amazing. Yes, it can get your voice heard. But people should not be basing their future on trading, without basic skills and every platform should be doing all they can to educate their customers.

The benefits of this new democracy are clear, however. Society will be transformed by online trading, and we can shape the ultimate global democracy, delivering change for good.