ThinkMarkets, a  multi-asset  Multi-Asset Composed of varying asset classes, multi-asset is a blanket designation combining different classes such bonds, equities, cash equivalents, fixed income, and alternative investments.When compared to traditional balanced funds, multi-asset solutions differ because they target specific investment outcomes. This includes outcomes such as return above inflation as opposed to gauging performance against standardized benchmarks.Given the composition of multi-asset classes, they need to be dynamically managed so that funds can continue to generate returns while keeping risk within fixed parameters. What Are Advantages or Disadvantages to Multi-Asset Investments?While multi-asset investing may better distribute risk, it should be known that a hindrance may be exerted upon potential returns.Indeed, multi-asset classes do not always perform as well as most stock funds due to containing other assets such as cash, bonds, or real estate investments. As a result, traders generally tend to gravitate towards target-date mutual funds, target allocation mutual funds, and ETFs.Multi-asset funds that fluctuate with an investor’s time scope are target-date mutual funds. Generally, target-date mutual funds run in congruence with an investor’s retirement age and are composed primarily of equities (85% to 90%) while the remaining is distributed to a money market or fixed income. Target allocation mutual funds are centered around an investor’s risk tolerance and are offered by most mutual fund companies. Equities compose between 20% to 85% of multi-asset funds and may also include international equities and bonds.Trading ETFs through contracts-for-difference (CFD) trading provides traders with a more immediate avenue to multi-asset investing with financial instruments such as precious metals, commodities, and currencies. The diversification that stems from the wake of multi-asset investing helps protect traders against unforeseen market pitfalls and volatility. However, these tend not to perform as effectively as the majority of stock funds in common years due to an allocation of assets. Composed of varying asset classes, multi-asset is a blanket designation combining different classes such bonds, equities, cash equivalents, fixed income, and alternative investments.When compared to traditional balanced funds, multi-asset solutions differ because they target specific investment outcomes. This includes outcomes such as return above inflation as opposed to gauging performance against standardized benchmarks.Given the composition of multi-asset classes, they need to be dynamically managed so that funds can continue to generate returns while keeping risk within fixed parameters. What Are Advantages or Disadvantages to Multi-Asset Investments?While multi-asset investing may better distribute risk, it should be known that a hindrance may be exerted upon potential returns.Indeed, multi-asset classes do not always perform as well as most stock funds due to containing other assets such as cash, bonds, or real estate investments. As a result, traders generally tend to gravitate towards target-date mutual funds, target allocation mutual funds, and ETFs.Multi-asset funds that fluctuate with an investor’s time scope are target-date mutual funds. Generally, target-date mutual funds run in congruence with an investor’s retirement age and are composed primarily of equities (85% to 90%) while the remaining is distributed to a money market or fixed income. Target allocation mutual funds are centered around an investor’s risk tolerance and are offered by most mutual fund companies. Equities compose between 20% to 85% of multi-asset funds and may also include international equities and bonds.Trading ETFs through contracts-for-difference (CFD) trading provides traders with a more immediate avenue to multi-asset investing with financial instruments such as precious metals, commodities, and currencies. The diversification that stems from the wake of multi-asset investing helps protect traders against unforeseen market pitfalls and volatility. However, these tend not to perform as effectively as the majority of stock funds in common years due to an allocation of assets. Read this Term online broker, has added over 2,500 shares and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to its  trading platform  Trading Platform In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real-time updates on quotes, charts and is the main frontend which customers are facing.Brokers either use existing trading platforms and sometimes customize them, or develop their own platform from scratch. Since the beginning of the retail FX trading business MetaQuotes and its platforms MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) have been the industry standard, especially when it comes to automated trading.MT4 Shows Resiliency While MT4 has long been seen as ubiquitous amongst brokers’ offerings, a targeted push by MetaQuotes themselves has led to broader adoption of MT5 in recent years. Advanced trading platforms such as MT4 or MT5 also allow access to a wide range of asset classes available for trading.The development of trading platforms over the past decade has failed to successfully dethrone MT4 or MT5, notably in the retail market. However, in institutional markets, brokerage companies and banking entities also construct and utilize proprietary currency trading platforms to help satisfy internal needs with trades executed through institutional trading channels.By far the most important parameter for many retail clients is the optionality and pairs available on trading platforms. Additionally, demand by traders has led to a greater emphasis on newer features such as advanced charting and other tools. In the FX space, a currency trading platform is a software provided by brokers to their respective client base, garnering access as traders in the broader market. Most commonly, this reflects an online interface or mobile app, complete with tools for order processing.Every broker needs one or more trading platforms to accommodate the needs of different clients. Being the backbone of the company’s offering, a trading platform provides clients with quotes, a selection of instruments to trade, real-time updates on quotes, charts and is the main frontend which customers are facing.Brokers either use existing trading platforms and sometimes customize them, or develop their own platform from scratch. Since the beginning of the retail FX trading business MetaQuotes and its platforms MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5) have been the industry standard, especially when it comes to automated trading.MT4 Shows Resiliency While MT4 has long been seen as ubiquitous amongst brokers’ offerings, a targeted push by MetaQuotes themselves has led to broader adoption of MT5 in recent years. Advanced trading platforms such as MT4 or MT5 also allow access to a wide range of asset classes available for trading.The development of trading platforms over the past decade has failed to successfully dethrone MT4 or MT5, notably in the retail market. However, in institutional markets, brokerage companies and banking entities also construct and utilize proprietary currency trading platforms to help satisfy internal needs with trades executed through institutional trading channels.By far the most important parameter for many retail clients is the optionality and pairs available on trading platforms. Additionally, demand by traders has led to a greater emphasis on newer features such as advanced charting and other tools. Read this Term.

The broker, a registered trademark of the global financial services provider, ThinkMarkets Group, announced the addition on Wednesday to its website.

The company said the move brings it closer to its goal of providing its clients with contracts for difference (CFDs) on the most liquid stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ.

With the addition, ThinkMarkets said its customers can now trade stocks and choose from over 4000 listed stocks and ETFs “from the Reddit darling, GameStop, to Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corp empire, from Yelp to Zillow.”

“Our ThinkTrader platform has proven to be reliable and easy to use. With the expansion of our US-listed assets, we’re enabling our customers to explore the depths of the U.S. stock market and choose stocks and ETFs that have previously been under the radar,” the broker said in the statement.

The new addition follows ThinkMarkets’ inclusion of five new crypto CFDs to its portfolio in April after entering the Japanese forex trading market a month earlier.

The five tokens added are BNB (Binance Coin), LUNA (Terra), AVAX (Avalanche), ATOM (Cosmos) and ALGO (Algorand).

Ongoing Legal Battle

ThinkMarkets and IS Prime are currently in court, with the latter claiming an exclusive liquidity contract breach by the former.

According to a court document, IS Prime alleged that from about 18 September 2018, ThinkMarkets used the services of another broker or brokers for business when it was obliged to use IS Prime exclusively until 17 January 2020.

IS Prime said the action was in breach of a Liquidity Addendum dated 19 January 2017 and signed by both companies after the acquisition of Think Liquidity by IS Risk Analytics.

However, in the latest update to the legal tussle, Finance Magnates reported exclusively that a British court in a second hearing rejected IS Prime’s attempts to strike out part of ThinkMarkets’ counterclaims on the case.

Earlier, the court had determined that IS Prime’s dispute against ThinkMarkets had no real prospect of succeeding.