Your trading style directly impacts your ability to make gains in the financial markets. Some personality types may benefit more from the strict measures of highly regulated transactions, which also tend to be more costly. Others prefer the flexibility of over-the-counter (OTC) trading with retailers who are directly accessing the global markets. While there are significant differences between the two, OTC trading seems to offer far more benefits than the exchange trading which are strictly regulated by governing bodies.
The financial instruments up for grabs do tend to weigh in but there are multiple reasons why savvy investors tend to prefer OTC trading over your run of the mill exchange trading option.
OTC Trading Offers Decentralized Market Dynamics
Trading on an exchange requires all financial products and transactions be settled through a centralized consortium. On one hand this ensures transactional integrity and offers a perceived level of security. On the other hand, this additional step means you’re always just moments behind the eight ball. Luckily, these exchanges no longer must take place in the pits by loud guys in funny colored jackets, but there’s still an entity doing your bidding for you.
OTC trading means that assets can be traded directly by market participants without the need of a centralized exchange. Since the prices of financial instruments used in OTC trading aren’t regulated by a governing body, they follow the basic principles of supply and demand. While this doesn’t necessarily make the market less volatile, it does make the market dynamics a little easier to follow. It also means that you pay less for your transactions which occur almost immediately.
Increased Access and Transactional Discretion
OTC trading provides access to securities and financial instruments which may not be listed on highly regulated exchanges. As such, there is less regulatory red tape to cripple the settlement of larger highly profitable deals making OTC trading attractive to many enterprising investors. Since transactions take place between two specific parties, OTC trading also offers a higher level of discretion than exchange trading.
Without the physical location of a centralized organization, OTC trading is available outside of normal trading hours. Investors love that they can trade foreign stocks at will without heavy market impact. As for digital assets, larger transactions can be completed faster, with less risk, and more liquidity on OTC trading platforms. Exchange trading just can’t compete with the benefits offered by OTC trading for buying and selling digital assets.
OTC Trading Benefits Far Outweigh Exchange Trading
Exchange trading serves its purpose and certainly has its place in the market but now there is another more flexible option for savvy, enterprising investors who want to make large profits trading financial assets. OTC trading offers more discretion and less bureaucracy for larger transactions along with the decentralized market dynamics it takes to make significant gains. Investors who opt for OTC trading over exchange trading also benefit from more affordable transactions and a higher liquidity rate. For them the choice is easy.