The blessing and curse of the “internet age” is its pure abundance of information. New medias, with their emphasis on fast digital delivery, have made news absurdly accessible. But this democratization has come with a hefty price-tag: for who are the arbiters of that which we now register as facts, tidbits of the real?

All talk of “fake news” aside, there is still the problem of simple overload. Indeed, it is often too easy to feel overwhelmed in this new landscape of digitalized information – we receive news via email, social media, blogs, podcasts . . . this list goes on and on. Accessibility is one thing, but too much of it can turn one deaf.

And traders thrive on information. The financial markets are always changing, from one day to the next. To get an edge and sustain profits, it’s imperative to have one’s ear to the ground. New media is double-edged in this respect: too much information and we become confused, mentally cluttered; too little and we are left floundering in the dark, basing our picks on baseless emotion.

A live stock trading news feed like Benzinga Pro is something like a median. We fully believe that to become a successful day trader, you need not only dedication and perseverance, but a practical toolkit. Professional stock brokers are not an altogether different species; they don’t possess unique and defining attributes. No, it’s only that they have a privileged degree of market access – the tools to succeed. 

Benzinga Pro is one media that can bring home insider access. With up-to-the-second news, financial releases, company news, and rumors delivered to your desktop, it’s easy to get a streamlined view of everything that is happening in the world’s markets on any given day. 

Created by Jason Raznick back in 2010, what we most like about this platform is the way it combines a robust news feed curated by invested professionals with those interactive aspects we have come to expect from new medias. For example, Benzinga Pro’s chat feature is populous and lively, adding a sense of community to an otherwise lonely occupation.

We don’t want to fall into the pathetic jargon of advertising, but this is the kind of toolkit which could help budding traders get squarely in the know. Let’s check out some of Benzinga Pro’s more notable features.

Key Features of Benzinga Pro

• Work Spaces: imagine Benzinga’s “workspaces” as fully customizable windows giving out onto the open vistas of the market. One can decide exactly what kind of content is presented, the kinds of notifications and alerts active, and the general character of the news stream. There are also preconfigured options available which conform to a variety of investor archetypes. 
• News Feed: perhaps the heart and soul of the Benzinga platform, their newsfeed looks like any other generic broadcasting channel, but in actuality it’s not. While services like MarketWatch, Yahoo! Finance, and Moneycontrol sometimes rely on less than enthusiastic reporters, Benzinga’s team is professionally driven to bring home the market news which matters to day traders. 
• Stock Screener: this one’s pretty simple and straightforward as far as stock screeners go. More experienced, demanding users may find its simplicity irksome, but it’s a useful tool to pair with Benzinga’s breaking stories, and helps keep track of daily winners and losers.
• Squawk Box: Exactly as the name suggests, this feature squawks out alerts via your favorite device’s audio, alerting even the most absent-minded to important happenings in the market. This is excellent for day traders who place a premium on multi-tasking.

 Why Benzinga Pro?

Why have we recently chosen to supplement our trading ventures with Benzinga Pro and not rely exclusively on stock market alert platforms such as Mindful Trader, TrendSpider or TradingView? 

In a nutshell, experience tells us that the stock market cannot be boiled down to sheer numbers, the kind of objective status that algorithmic platforms aspire to. While these kinds of charting services can indeed tell us something useful, combining it with old-fashioned know-how and intuition is the best bet.

Benzinga Pro gives one insider access to human stories that can be combined with the cold logic of algorithmically driven charting services.

Benzinga Pro – Is the Price Right? 

As far as price goes, Benzinga Pro is “reasonable”; the only catch is that their “basic” plan is gutted of all the essential features which make Benzinga stand out. 

The pricier “essential” plan includes all the features covered in this article. Notably, “essential” includes squawk box and personal account management services. This “essential plan” runs a considerable $249/month.

They also offer a 14-day free trial version for users who want to see what the platform is all about.

The Bottom Line 

To sustain profits and maintain yourself in the world of personal investing, information is key. It’s easy to get lost in all the chatter of the internet, but by subscribing to a service like Benzinga Pro, you assure yourself only the information that matters – streamlined, categorized, and tailored to your personal risk tolerance.