Individual traders often manage other people’s money or simply trade with their own. Few have access to a trading desk, but they often have strong ties to a brokerage due to the large amounts they spend on commissions and access to other resources.
However, the limited scope of these resources prevents them from competing directly with institutional day traders. Instead, they are forced to take more risks. Individual traders typically day trade using technical analysis and swing trades—combined with some leverage—to generate adequate profits on small price movements in highly liquid stocks.4
Day trading demands access to some of the most complex financial services and instruments in the marketplace. Day traders typically require all of the following:5
Wall Street Prep. “Sales & Trading Analyst: Day In The Life.”