The future of trading: a holographic home office?

• IG presents the future of trading – highlighting the technology that has the potential to revolutionise traders’ working practices over the next 50 years
• Discover emerging technologies including brain-machine interfaces, blockchain, AI assistants and pocket-sized quantum computers
• Learn about the research happening in 2020 that could pave the way for these advancements

Financial services firms from London to Hong Kong – and everywhere in between – have been forced to adapt their working practices as a result of the coronavirus crisis. With the rapid pace of change opening up new ways of thinking, IG has produced a report examining how technology has the potential to revolutionise how traders work more broadly over the next 50 years.

You can check it out here: https://www.ig.com/uk/research/future-of-trading/

IG’s top five predictions for the future of trading

1. Traders connect to holographic ‘trading floors’ from home

• Hologram technology enables traders to launch their own personalised 3D trading floor, so they can access a professional set-up from the comfort of their own homes
• Haptic technology makes it possible to ‘feel’ this holographic environment, enabling traders to push and pull charts with their hands

The view from 2020: Research carried out by Japanese scientists in 2015 proved the viability of haptic holograms, suggesting that commercial application of the technology is only a matter of time.

2. Traders manage their emotions, digitally

• Hardware enables traders to control their emotions in high-pressure situations and to manage moods in periods of isolation or stress
• Risk management systems detect when a trader is being unduly influenced by fear or greed, closing positions or locking them out of a system to minimise losses

The view from 2020: Neural implants are subject to present-day research by firms including Microsoft, Facebook and Elon Musk’s Neuralink.

3. Pocket-sized big data is accessible to all

• Quantum processors are small enough to fit inside mobile devices, bringing the power of commercial infrastructure to traders’ pockets
• Predictive technology forecasts future trends and finds hidden correlations, enabling traders to use big data to inform their decision-making

The view from 2020: Research by Boston Consulting Group suggests that quantum computers may be commercially viable by 2040.

4. Exchanges are history

• All trades are secured by decentralised software – making exchanges redundant and empowering individuals to trade from anywhere
• Every market operates around the clock as transactions are secured and verified by the blockchain’s underlying software, with no human intervention

The view from 2020: Several decentralised cryptocurrency exchanges are operational in 2020, and these may provide a template for traditional exchanges to follow in the future.

5. Specialised trading environments connect traders

• Traders connect and compete through specialised trading environments, enabling them to take on a variety of interactive challenges
• Individuals can join teams to complete tasks or tailor their experience to suit personal preferences, such as risk tolerance

The view from 2020: Cryptocurrency networks including Ethereum power decentralised apps (‘dapps’) and smart contracts, which could underpin specialised trading environments in the future.

To see more predictions for the future, visit ‘A time traveller’s guide to the future of trading’ here: https://www.ig.com/uk/research/future-of-trading/

About the research

Thirteen of IG’s financial writers and analysts took a survey in which they submitted predictions describing what trading technology might look like in 50 years’ time.

Respondents gave their general assessments of possible developments in trading technology, then submitted additional predictions in six specific categories: emerging technologies, alerts and signals, risk management tools, platform technology, trading accessibility, and other enhancements.

Our writers and analysts voted for the most plausible predictions, with the most popular ideas being written up as articles.

About IG

IG is a world leading online trading and investments provider – giving adventurous people access to thousands of markets via our award-winning platform and apps.

Our products include everything from CFDs and spread bets – which enable traders to speculate on both rising and falling prices – to shares and fully managed investment portfolios.

Established in the UK in 1974, we’re now trusted by more than 178,000 clients globally.