I sit high, I see everything: test drive of the “My Broker” service

Perhaps, each of us has heard about someone who “made money on the stock market”, “rose by trading on the stock market”, etc. Indeed, working with stock instruments as a private investor is one of the ways to earn income. Of course, with some risk. And surely someone wanted to see from the inside how everything works and whether it’s true that hundreds of graphs and figures are running before the eyes of a novice investor who doesn’t sleep day and night. Most recently, BCS launched in beta test mode the first simple and convenient service for trading in Russia - the “My Broker” application. Especially for Geektimes, we asked a former private investor to test the system from the perspective of his experience, share his impressions and at the same time tell a little about his path to the stock market. We give him the floor.

“Hello, Giktimes!

My life stopped being the same back in 2005. Then I, a student of the Faculty of Finance with an average score of 5.0, took full advantage of the right to choose and voluntarily entered my name into the list of the “Financial Management” specialization, not even suspecting why my classmates rushed to taxes and banking. Everything became clear in September: our small group of brave people were guaranteed two years of financial mathematics, the securities market, stock exchange business, in-depth economic analysis and statistics, probability theory and other perversions of disciplines that you cannot skip without consequences. All this time, there was only one thought that consoled me: I would become a broker, then conquer Wall Street and take my place right between Jordan Belfort and Bernard Madoff.

So, introductory. I didn’t become a broker; I didn’t even try to conquer Wall Street. But the stock market and knowledge about it continued to beckon - I tried to make money on my own using exchange rates, and then dreamed of succeeding in transactions with Gazprom shares. Dreams Come True. But somehow, quite partially. As a result, work completely distracted me from stock exchange affairs, but BCS’s offer to try “My Broker” and talk about it touched a nerve.

“My Broker” makes it possible to buy and sell stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments; exchange currency on the stock exchange at the exchange rate (how to do this is already described in the BCS blog) in a simple and convenient way.

I’ll say right away who I would recommend this application to.

• Anyone who wants to “trade the stock market” at low speeds.
  You can consider various instruments and strategies, assemble a portfolio and instruct a broker to purchase certain stocks, bonds and other assets for you. The entry threshold is very low - only 50,000 rubles. You can choose a strategy without losses, with minimal risk and try to earn much more than, for example, the rate on a bank deposit allows.
• For financial students and anyone who wants to learn more about the stock market.
  There is a lot of information available in “My Broker”, it is all well structured and rich in details. After several hours of leisurely research in “My Broker”, you are guaranteed to have an understanding of what assets there are, what can influence them, what a portfolio is and the structure of an investment portfolio.
• Definitely for those who already work/trade (whoever calls it here) on the stock exchange or are ready to use part of their personal savings to form an investment portfolio.
  You will be surprised by the simplicity and accessibility of the interface, the range of information, and the list of tools offered. I have come across personal accounts of other services - this one is indeed more modern and more convenient for a private investor.
• For those who are just dreaming or are already planning to become a professional participant in the stock market (for example, a broker).
  Working with “My Broker” even in test mode without a balance, you can see how a strategy is formed and the portfolio is diversified depending on the client’s needs. Besides, it’s good luck to see your work from the perspective of a future client.

Of the obvious advantages, I would especially like to note the modern and very clear interface, the presence of an application for iPhone (I’ll explain why this is cool below), information content and high data update speed. In general, the application works without a single freeze, even with a weak connection. There is no Android app yet, but it will be coming soon. The web version is perfectly adapted for mobile devices, and on an 8-inch tablet I was happy with everything, but on 4.5 and 5 inches it doesn’t feel the same.

Let's try to cheat the system

Depending on the experience, amount, currency and investment period, “My Broker” creates a personal offer. Even though I had investment experience, to begin with I lied a little and chose, as it seems to me, the most starting set of conditions: no investment experience, amount 50,000 - 300,000, in rubles, moderate income. In general, “My Broker” offers options for the relationship between profitability and risk:

1. minimum risk: up to 25% return on capital, up to 0% possible reduction (loss)
2. balanced strategy: up to 35% return on capital, up to 5% possible reduction
3. maximum income: up to 65% return on capital, up to 15% possible reduction.

I deliberately refused a low level of risk because I wanted to get a more interesting offer.
Well, beginners should avoid striving for high returns, since it is associated with risks that you need to be prepared for. Stress at the beginning of working with the stock market or exchange is not the best help; you need to delve into working with financial instruments gradually. In addition, experience in financial transactions comes with a series of mistakes - starting with small experiments, you greatly reduce the price of this experience. For example, my first experience cost me 30,000 rubles in 2008, two salaries at that time. And only further caution and balanced decisions helped me win back my losses and even earn extra money. Let's go back to the recommendations that I received in the “My Broker” panel:

I am partial to financial markets, so even a quick glance at the proposed case makes it clear that the portfolio was formed exactly according to the request and stable assets were offered. Especially for Geektimes, we will check how good the companies potentially included in my portfolio are - we will look at quotes over time and inquire about the state of affairs of the proposed issuers.

Issuer No. 1. Sberbank.

A strong bank that manages to grow even during a crisis. Let's compare quotes for two dates:

10/27/2014 — closing price 76.23 rubles. 01/25/2016 — closing price 90.52 rubles.

Taking into account exchange rate changes and inflation, the situation looks stable. And this despite the fact that Sberbank is sensitive to fluctuations in the ruble exchange rate and its assets are volatile. The news on Sberbank is also positive, so the asset is good.

Issuer No. 2. Magnet.

This issuer is of interest to many investors - a strong and fairly tenacious representative of Russian retail, showing stable profit growth. Let's compare quotes for two dates:

10.27.2014 — closing price 11,900 rub. 01/25/2016 — closing price 10,952 rubles.

Magnit has overcome almost a year of decline and shows good quotes. At the end of 2015, revenue growth amounted to 24.3% (the retailer itself predicted an increase of 26%), in 2015, much fewer new stores were opened, which in itself is not an alarming signal - Magnit already has an extensive network. When assessing this issuer, one can even think purely philistinely: there is a crisis in the country, people are starting to save, and the Magnit chain of stores with its adequate (and in large stores, low) prices remains in demand. So the asset is promising.

Issuer No. 3. MMC Norilsk Nickel.

Oil comes and goes, but we always need nickel. Seriously, nickel mining will always be in demand: it is used everywhere, from medicine (dentistry, prosthetics) to scientific research, mechanical engineering and coinage (many coins in the world are made using nickel). Let's compare quotes for two dates:

10.27.2014 - closing price 8033 rub. 01/25/2016 — closing price 8944 rub.

And one glance at the chart is enough to be convinced of the profitability of this asset.

So, we have received investment recommendations and can choose which issuers we are interested in or add our own assets. Why do you need multiple assets in a portfolio? This is diversification - if one of the assets does not work, the portfolio will work on the rest. This approach reduces risk. On the other hand, this does not mean that you need to form a portfolio from the maximum set of assets - small shares will not bring the desired income.

By the way, all basic information about the issuer or asset can be obtained by clicking on its name on the desktop - a detailed card will open:

Still, let’s try to play with the system and choose different strategies. If you go through strategies, you may receive an offer to add a structural product to your asset portfolio: bonds, income barrels, investment notes, as well as interesting products based, for example, on changes in the indices of unstable, but very economically and politically interesting Turkey.

What happens if we choose, say, all our initial conditions, but different risk-return ratios? “My broker” gives the same set: Sberbank, Magnit, MMC Norilsk Nickel. We close the beta notification and see the switch between a table structure and a pie chart view. We see that in fact the proposed strategies differ in the shares of the proposed assets. Thus, the riskiest, but also the most profitable portfolio contains only two assets in equal shares.

And this is the weighted strategy with moderate profitability chosen at the beginning:

Let's look at the rest of the proposed investment ideas:

Here we are presented with ideas for purchasing shares of foreign companies, indicating the growth potential, investment period, and opening date. For each recommendation, you can open a detailed card, look at the price, trading volume, dynamics and find out why the company is attractive. In the future, you will be able to find out the issuer's news, which is important - even a small event in the company can significantly affect the quotes. What can we say about serious milestones, which sometimes radically change the principles of the issuer’s work or have a significant impact on it (death of management, departure of top managers, release of new products, etc.).

How to fund a brokerage account?

To top up your balance, open the main menu at the top left of the screen

1. Go to the "My Accounts" tab.

   

2. Click on the arrow on the right > Top up.

   
   Next, select the top-up option

   
   — from the BCS Bank balance (free), using details from a third-party bank, from a bank card (another bank may charge a commission for an interbank transfer, check the rates with your bank), at a bank branch (through the cash desk).

Galloping through “My Broker”

In addition to investment strategies, “My Broker” includes several useful sections that help you track the dynamics of the profitability of your asset portfolio non-stop, without leaving your computer monitor.
Such a tool is very important for an investor of any level - information about the state of the portfolio must be reliable, relevant and comprehensive. You can track the entire status of your assets in the “My Portfolio” section. The account, funds, profit, profitability, portfolio composition, asset distribution, and profitability graph are displayed here. Withdrawals are also carried out in this section. That is, you always control your funds and the value of your investment portfolio in real time, broken down by asset type and individual instrument. You will be able to track how much profit certain securities have brought to date.

In the “Quotes” section you can follow the latest financial market news: selected assets, exchange rates, world indices, futures, see the leaders of growth and decline, the situation on blue chips, monitor commodity markets (including precious metals). All information on structural products is collected in a separate section.

“My Broker” aggregates news related to financial markets, various types of risks and issuers. As soon as you begin to consciously work with assets on the stock market, you realize that sometimes the most insignificant event can affect the exchange rate of currencies, shares, and other securities. Therefore, a good broker and a competent private investor are always up to date with the latest economic and political news. Particularly advanced people also follow news related to specific issuers: for example, owners of Hasbro shares are interested in the results of the Star Wars rentals.

If you are not behind a monitor all the time, then a beta version of the “My Broker” application for iPhone has already been published in iTunes, which contains:

• charts and quotes of Russian and foreign stocks and bonds, commodities, currencies and world indices;
• news and analytics about the market situation and expert forecasts;
• technical analysis every day;
• investment ideas and transaction recommendations;
• consultation with a Financial Advisor;
• history of account transactions.

This is how it looks and works in real life:

Let's repeat the experiment with creating a portfolio, but in the mobile version:

We get the same set of assets:

You can add the securities you're interested in to your own tracking sheet and receive news and recommendations only for those instruments. In general, spin the iPhone in your hands and watch how your papers work for you.

For those who need even more screenshots:

Trading platforms

BCS offers the following types of trading platforms for PCs for conducting transactions on the stock exchange:

• QUIK (installed on a computer) - commission up to 300 rubles. per month (from this amount the commission accrued during the reporting period is deducted);
• webQUIK (works directly in a web browser, no installation required on a PC), commission up to 300 rubles. per month;
• Metatrader 5 ; (up to 200 rub/month);
• CQG ($25);
• My Broker - web version (free).

You can download and install trading platforms from this page of the official website - https://broker.ru/software.

The following applications are available for operations from mobile devices:

• My Broker. World of Investments . (for free)
• BCS Broker in Yandex.Money; (for free)
• Premier is a universal platform for comprehensive management of personal finances, including ready-made investment solutions, independent trading on the stock exchange, and banking products. (free)
• My Broker. Investments with BCS . — new version of the platform. (free)
• webQUIK Mobile (free)
• Mobile version of Metatrader 5 (free for Metatrader 5 users).
• Easy investments (for novice investors, differs in that educational materials are published here).

How to choose the right software solution? Professional traders, as well as those who plan to perform many transactions, are best suited to QUIK or webQUIK, as they have full functionality for technical analysis.

Investors who want to make few transactions and invest for the long term are better off choosing mobile terminals. Their functionality is limited, but they will give you convenience in making transactions. The web version of the terminal has a larger set of options compared to the mobile platform.

Read the article on how to open a brokerage account with BCS.

A few words about safety in every sense

Since working with finances places high demands on security, the BCS developers took care of this too:

• all your information is protected by reliable encryption algorithms and is transmitted only through secure channels;
• To log in to the system, use the login and password from your personal account “BCS-Online”;
• confirmation of transactions for the purchase and sale of securities is carried out only with two-factor authorization via SMS for additional account protection.

And finally, a few tips from me for your peace of mind.

• The main advice is to diversify your portfolio by adding structured instruments or combinations of assets. This reduces the risk and allows you to stay in the black even in the most inconvenient scenario.
• No rash steps - be guided by common sense, the market situation, and do not try to fish in troubled waters. If in doubt, it is better to contact a financial advisor.
• Don't deposit all the money you have into your account. Investment has a period and if there is an urgent need, you will not have time to withdraw funds from the account. Personal finances also need to be diversified.
• No euphoria. This is perhaps the most terrible threat: the first profitable transaction makes your head spin, and now you are ready to invest everything you have. Wait, analyze, watch the score, correlate with events in the external environment, comprehend the basics of technical analysis. This will allow you to develop progressively but effectively.
• If you want to try yourself in the stock market, be sure to try it. And applications such as “My Broker” will help you be on the wave of your investments, monitor them and feel a little like Belfort, and most importantly, a rational and thoughtful investor.”

All that remains for us to add from BCS is that all services are available in beta testing mode and are really useful for both serious work and training. We welcome comments, criticism, questions, bug reports and any feedback.

Login to your personal account

To access the trading platform and personal account, you will receive a temporary password from BCSOnline after the brokerage service agreement has been concluded.

Login via mobile application

1. Open the application.
2. Click on the “Login” button.

   

3. Enter your phone number and SMS password.

   

4. Change the temporary password to a permanent one.

   

5. Specify a security question and answer to be able to restore access to your account.

   

6. Confirm the operation via SMS.

   

7. Set the terminal access code.

   

Login via web browser

1. Open the official website my.broker.ru
2. Click on the “Login” link

   

3. To log in, enter k-login (or phone number) and password. You can find out your k-login in the mobile application in the main menu by clicking on the profile icon.

   

How to withdraw money?

At the top left of the screen, open the main menu.

Select “My Accounts” and click on the arrow icon.

Next, select “Withdraw” and the withdrawal option.

You can withdraw funds to the details of another bank, as well as to an account opened with BCS Bank. It is also possible to submit instructions for withdrawal of DS by phone and in the branch. In the same menu you can view the history of withdrawal requests.

A non-trading order can be submitted until 17:30 Moscow time. The funds will be transferred the next day.

Demo account

The demo mode will allow novice investors to fully appreciate the functionality of the mobile trading platform for trading on the stock exchange.

To use the demo version, download the “My Broker” application, launch it and click on the “Guest Login” button.

The interface is absolutely identical to the real trading platform. The only difference is that quotes are displayed with a delay of 15 minutes. However, unlike the VTB Investments application, you will not be able to practice making trades on a demo account from BCS. This feature is only available in the full version.

How to find out your k-login (code)?

1. Open the main menu.
2. Click on the profile icon.

   

3. Under the account owner's last name you will see k-login and phone number.

   

In addition, information can be viewed in the web version of the trading terminal.

In the upper right corner, click on the arrow image (opposite the Client Name) and select “Profile”.