Narratives of online trading

Abstract

This narrative research project makes use of a series of memorandums to explore the experiences of two private investors who trade online. Each memorandum was externalised to Financial Freedom to allow for the research problem to be objectified. The research question that was posed to the two participants was, “As a private investor trading for your own account, how do you experience online trading?” One participant told a story of approaching trading in a very unsystematic manner. Much of the experience he shared dealt with his criticism of systems and his belief that these systems disadvantage people in all spheres of life. The other participant’s experience involved the importance of structure and knowledge in online trading. He preferred to have absolute control over his money and investments. He felt that knowledge and structure enable him to do this. The research findings illustrate that every trader’s experience is unique and therefore cannot be generalised, as appears to be done in current literature. Copyright