Channeling Stocks

Paper Trading

Charles Schwab Paper Trading

Click here to get the Charles Schwab paper trading website.

Help desk to set up paper trading on their site:

877-519-1403

What are the costs of opening a brokerage account and to paper trade?

$0 monthly service fees and $0 account minimum

Practice using paperMoney

One of the most powerful ways to solidify your knowledge is by practicing. You can do this by paper trading using paperMoney® on thinkorswim®. Since paper trading is done with imaginary funds rather than real money, it gives you the opportunity to practice applying your investing plans in realistic market conditions without taking on any risk.

Practicing trading single-leg options and vertical spreads can help you make sense of how price changes can affect profits and losses each trading day. This can provide valuable insights and help test the potential viability of your investing plan. Here are a few things to keep in mind about paper trading:

Because it uses imaginary funds, paper trading doesn’t have the same psychological impact as trading with real money.

Live market conditions are different than simulated conditions in paperMoney, which is solely for educational purposes. For example, in paperMoney it’s easier to get filled at desirable prices. And, unlike a real-money trading account, short options will not be assigned early in paperMoney.

Successful virtual trading during one period doesn’t guarantee successful investing of actual funds during a later period because market conditions are always changing.