6 investing tools and techniques that could help you maximise your returns

Looking for ways to boost your investment returns? We show you some methods that may help to enhance your results.

Whether you're new to the world of investing or an experienced trader, it's important to look for ways to give yourself an edge.

Leveraging tech-based tools and learning new techniques can help you continue to develop your skills, no matter what level of experience you have.

Today, we take a look at 6 tools and techniques that you can use to help maximise your returns.

1. Leverage investment algorithms and tool sets

In many ways, it's easier than ever to take advantage of high-tech tools for trading. The internet has made investing drastically more accessible and traders now have a huge range of options available to upskill.

For example, Stock Doctor provides a range of tools for investors.

One of its features is a trading algorithm that allows you to identify the potential profitability of stocks, which in turn allows you to make more-informed purchasing and trading decisions.

In fact, trading algorithms have emerged more broadly as a particularly popular option. They typically tend to be well-suited for traders who carry out regular transactions and have a high turnover of trades.

When used properly, they allow you to set your trading parameters, identify more-profitable stocks and buy or sell at the best possible price – all in a fraction of the time required to carry out processes manually.

Importantly, they can also help you save money on fees. After all, if you're trading smarter, you're less likely to be carrying out erratic or multiple transactions to handle single trades.

Sign up for Stock Doctor

2. Start small, scale larger

Part of prudent investing is being sensible in your approach. It's always wise to remember that you should never invest more than you can afford to lose!

In practical terms – well, it's usually not wise to go all-in on a new investment. Rather, it's better to start small, build successes and then look to replicate those successes on a larger scale.

By starting small you can also test how well a new stock or industry fits into your wider portfolio. You'll be able to look at your trading strategy, your risk tolerance, the returns you're generating and how the types of variables that new stock brings to your holdings.

If it proves successful – and aligns with your existing trading strategy – then you can look at expanding outwards.

3. Backtest strategies to avoid future problems

Backtesting is a very common approach used by experienced and high-level investors.

It's based on the idea that you can apply your existing trading strategy to historical data and assess how well you would have performed if you'd been using it at the time. In principle, a strategy that worked well in the past can work well again in the future. Similarly, a bad strategy in the past will likely be a bad strategy now.

Some people will do this manually, but you can find a variety of online services that will speed up the process significantly.

It can be a very useful tool and can serve as a helpful testing ground for a variety of different strategies.

However, it's important to remember that it can't always be seen as definitive. Some strategies will be successful under certain market conditions, but can't be assumed as universally applicable.

So it's best used in tandem with other tools too, like stock simulators, trading algorithms and expert advice.

4. Invest in high-speed internet

This might sound like a pretty obvious one, but it's always good to be reminded of the basics.

Speed is everything when it comes to trading. You want to be able to buy and sell in as close to real-time as possible. So a laggy online connection may not just be costing you time – it's probably costing you real money, too.

So it's worth investing in a high-speed, low-latency internet connection. This way you'll be able to execute trades with minimum hassle and ensure you're getting the best bang for your buck.

5. Have a clear trading plan in place – and stick to it!

Even if you've only had a play around with a demo account or stock simulator, you've probably realised that having a trading plan is important. You can't make purchases or sell willy-nilly and expect to make sustainable profits.

So having a plan in place is critical if you want to get serious about trading.

Everyone's plan looks different – it's about getting used to going through the good and bad times in the market and making trading a habit. Building resilience.

But without one in place to act as your guideline, it's very easy to get carried away by trends or make emotional, spur-of-the-moment decisions.

Now, this doesn't mean that your trading plan can never be adjusted. If you're finding that it isn't delivering the results you were hoping for – or is consistently costing you money – then it's worth reassessing.

Backtesting, stock simulators, algorithms and expert advice can all play a role in developing a more effective trading plan.

6. Never stop learning

It's a cliche, but it's true – the most important investment you'll ever make is in yourself.

Any trader who's not taking steps to learn new techniques, new technology and new tools will find themselves being left behind.

It's also critical to listen to people who've done it before and demonstrated success as traders.

One way you can do this is by signing up for a trading platform or advisory service. For example, Stock Doctor members have direct access to professional equity analysts.

Investing in yourself and looking for learning opportunities is critical for ensuring your success – both now and into the future.

To find out more about trading stocks, make sure you check out our step-by-step guide.

Learn more about Stock Doctor