Recommend Site/App For Virtual/Dummy Stock Trading

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kidrow

kidrow

Herald
Hi all,

Looking for recommendations for any site or app that simulates real stock trading as closely as possible, but virtual & free.

Complete noob here. So I'm not even sure what I'm looking for. But something that is simple, yet close to the real deal. Preferably, something that would also include any fees or charges (such as brokerage fees) that would be incurred in the real world. Also, hopefully, this would work off of real-world, real-time data.

I'm just looking to learn how stock trading in India works. So competing with others for a prize isn't the objective.

I've googled, of course, & have come across NSE Paathshala, Moneybhai etc. But am unsure which ones are best to learn from.

Thanks for your time. Good day!
 
You can use Moneycontrol by simply creating an account and user their portfolio feature to create a virtual portfolio where you can enter hypothetical trades. You need to however enter manual approximations for the brokerage per transaction you enter for more realistic simulations of real world trading scenarios
 
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Alternatively many top Engg colleges and B-Schools in India run such games as competitions for their technical fests. More interesting as its competition
 
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thatsashok said:
Alternatively many top Engg colleges and B-Schools in India run such games as competitions for their technical fests. More interesting as its competition
Click to expand...
Thanks for taking the time. Not looking for a competition as it's only to understand how things work. Plus, don't want to start out feeling like a loser, :P . Though I agree that once one has come to grips with it, competitions will be more interesting.
 
Thanks. I tried both Moneybhai & ICICIDirect. What draws me towards Moneybhai is that you can invest in Mutual Funds & FDs as well, whereas with the others, Equity seems to be the only option. I'm not sure if the NSE site has MFs as well. I'd definitely be more interested in such a simulator if MFs were also on offer.

Having said that, purchasing MF units on Moneybhai hasn't worked for me. Is it because it's a known glitch or am I doing something wrong? Any attempt to buy does indeed make it to the order book. But never have I been able to purchase any units and have it in my portfolio. Any one know what's going on?
 
It is none of my business but I am very curious to know why you're looking for mutual funds mock trading. You can just pick up a copy of Businessline (Monday) or ET Wealth and look at their returns.
 
It's so I can gauge if I can do better in stocks vs mutual funds. I know an experienced person can beat MFs. But for a beginner like me, it might not be the case.

So say I "buy" MF units now. & "invest" in equity. A year down the line, I can gauge how well I did. Sure, I could check past performance a year down the line but this would be easier.

Also, in the real world, one is advised to have a diverse portfolio. Having MFs, FDs along with Equity in the virtual world would be a good way to see what combination of options works best.

& I'd also like to learn about whether it is prudent to change Funds, just like you would stocks.

The simulator just gives you a way to have more than 1 identical portfolio to begin with & see the different outcomes with different decisions.
 
Oh okay.
Here's my opinion about it. May come across as harsh.

Trying to beat the market or MF is fool's errand. You're trying to beat teams of experienced traders and seasoned experts who have access to tools, algorithms, and early news we can't even imagine. And remember, by the time you've got the news which you feel is relevant, it has already reached all the big sharks before people like you and me. And those sharks have already made necessary changes before we've even started reading that news. Sure you can hit jackpot once in a while but that's just a fluke.

Diverse portfolio is great, and you can do that with existing mutual funds and bonds as well. There's no best combination of options. If there is, it has already been used by those big sharks I told you about. So just pick 3-4 mutual funds (each from different house) which you feel are best and stick with them for a year before reviewing their performance. You can pick 1 bluechip, 1 mid-cap, 1 flexible/hybrid, and 1 balance fund for SIP. There's your diverse portfolio. Put some money in bonds and FD too for volatile equity market.

As for jumping from one MF to another, do that if your existing MF is giving mediocre returns but for 1-2%, it is not advisable. For example, check out following screenshot (taken from here):
SrjCs2Q.png


If you're already investing in SBI or DSP, there's no need to jump to Mirae for less than 2% of returns.


Just my 2 cents.
 
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@Mr.J Thanks for the perspective & the info.

It's not that I'm going all in when it comes to the real world. In fact, I look at equities with some trepidation. For one, I don't understand how things work. & second, stocks have been known to crash, & crash very heavily at times.

But, when I came to know about virtual platforms, I decided it'd be a good way to get to learn things. So I'm just tinkering with the idea. Playing a virtual game over a year or two should also help me realize whether I'm a proper fit or a misfit.

Rather, I'm curious about the case for trading in individual shares when MFs seem to do well. Hence my preference for a game with both shares as well as MFs.

Again, thanks for your time. I get where you're coming from. Good day!
 
Its great that you have decided to try your hand at trading. I'd suggest you to start real trading with small sums (no more than ~15k in your account) instead of paper trading. Trust me you will learn much faster if you go this way because when real money is involved human psychology plays a big role.

For example, no trader gets every trade right. Even the best ones incur losses at times. A new trader has the tendency to let the losses run hoping that the price will eventually move in their direction (nobody likes a losing trade). Whereas an experienced trader would cut the losses before they become too big. A single bad trade can wipe out months of accumulated earnings.

Another example, there will be a time when a new trader will experience a string of losses. Every next trade will accompany a feeling of doubt. It will take some time to accept that every trade that you make will have no affect on the next one.

In other words, paper trading might make your technical/fundamental analysis strong, but its actually a matter of mastering the trading psychology.
 
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@Shubham1401 Thanks for your time. Yes, this is one perspective that I've indeed come across while reading about trading online. No doubt real money will affect one's psychology much differently when compared to virtual money.
 
speaking of trading, anyone care to share their experiences with their choice of traders? online trading accounts? I'm thinking of getting rid of HDFC and going with someone with lower charges. I never trade intraday and prefer delivery based investments but HDFC charges are just atrocious.
 
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