How to trade or invest in artificial intelligence (AI)
Artificial intelligence (AI) is getting set to change the future. Discover how to trade or invest in AI with us, Australia’s No.1 CFD trading provider.1
Start trading today. For account opening enquiries call 1800 601 799 between 9am and 6pm (AEDT) weekdays, or email newaccounts.au@ig.com.
Contact us: 1800 601 799
Start trading today. For account opening enquiries call 1800 601 799 between 9am and 6pm (AEDT) weekdays, or email newaccounts.au@ig.com.
Contact us: 1800 601 799
If you’re ready to trade or invest in artificial intelligence, follow these steps:
1. Choose whether to trade or invest
Trading lets you speculate on rising or falling prices with CFDs, investing lets you take direct ownership.
2. Identify a share or ETF through your own analysis
Carry out your own technical and fundamental analysis to identify a share or ETF that you’d like to take a position on.
3. Open an account and place your AI trade or investment
Open a trading account to speculate on prices with CFDs, open a share trading account to take direct ownership.
Or, if you want to get a greater understanding of the AI sector before you take a position, here’s our full guide:
5 steps to trading or investing in artificial intelligence (AI)
Learn about the AI industry
The AI industry is focused on researching, developing and manufacturing the latest and greatest machines that can make our everyday lives easier. The sector is centred around machines that’ve been programmed to carry out tasks and ‘think’ when solving problems.
AI is already being used to help in a range of different sectors, including healthcare, finance, car manufacturing, robotics, automation, education and agriculture.
Discover why people trade or invest in AI
People trade or invest in AI because it is a growing sector that is likely to become a greater part of our daily lives in the coming years. Previously the stuff of science-fiction, artificial intelligence has already made our world vastly different to what it was 50 years ago. Who’s to say what the world will look like in 10 years’ time, let alone 50.
So, people are looking to trade or invest in AI to ride the wave of technological advancement that’s expected to take the twenty-first century by force. And, the companies that are leading the charge could be set to experience rapid growth – assuming that AI becomes everything that people currently think it will be.
AI is one of several thematic investment opportunities that’ve gained popularity in recent years – and people are interested to see exactly what this industry has in store. Other thematic opportunities include water, electric vehicles and 5G.
Decide which AI asset you want to take a position on
With us, you’ll be able to trade or invest in artificial intelligence shares or ETFs.
- Shares give you exposure to the market performance of different companies that are directly involved in the artificial intelligence sector like Alibaba, IBM and Microsoft
- ETFs are a basket of securities – usually the shares of multiple companies and certain indices like the Nasdaq 100 – that will give you diversified exposure to the artificial intelligence sector
- Shares
- ETFs
| Trading | Investing |
| Speculate on share prices rising or falling with CFDs. | Buy the shares outright and benefit from any upward movement in their price. |
| Trading | Investing |
| Speculate on ETF prices rising or falling with CFDs. | Buy shares in an ETF outright and benefit from any upward movement in the ETF’s price. |
- Artificial intelligence shares live market prices
- Artificial intelligence ETFS live market prices
Prices above are subject to our website terms and conditions. Prices are indicative only. All shares prices are delayed by at least 15 minutes.
Prices above are subject to our website terms and conditions. Prices are indicative only. All shares prices are delayed by at least 15 minutes.
Choose whether to trade or invest in artificial intelligences
| Trading | Investing | |
| Markets | Artificial intelligence shares and ETFs | Artificial intelligence shares and ETFs |
| Method | Trading derivatives like CFDs | Investing with a share trading account |
| Time frame | Short to medium term | Medium to long term |
| Initial capital required | Deposit (margin) | Full value of investment |
| Returns | Profit from long and short positions | From capital appreciation and dividends |
| Commission charges | Commission on share CFDs, margin rate varies. | Buy and sell shares and ETFs from zero commission for US and UK shares2 and from $5 commission for AU shares3 |
| Risk | Leverage can magnify both your profits and losses as they’ll be based on the full exposure of the trade, not just the margin required to open it. This means losses as well as profits could far outweigh your margin, so always ensure you’re trading within your means. | Limited to the initial outlay |
| Style | Day trading, swing trading, trend trading and position trading | Passive and active investing |
Trading vs investing in detail
We like to be clear about the differences between trading and investing.
‘Trading’ lets you speculate on the price of a stock or other financial asset rising or falling using derivatives like CFDs. If you want to take a position on AI shares or ETFs without owning them directly, then CFDs might be for you.
Bear in mind that these are leveraged products, which means they enable you to get full market exposure for an initial deposit – known as margin. But, while leverage can increase your profits, it can also increase your losses.
‘Investing’ means that you’re taking direct ownership of something to benefit from prices rising. You’ll be able to invest in the shares of individual companies that are involved in the artificial intelligence sector, or in ETFs to get broad exposure to AI.
Leverage isn’t available when you’re investing, so you’ll need to commit the full cost of your position upfront. While this could increase your initial outlay, it also caps your maximum risk at the amount of money you paid to open your position.
Identify an opportunity through your own analysis
Analysis is a crucial part of trading and investing – and competent analysis can be the difference between making a profit or incurring a loss. It’s important that you carry out both fundamental and technical analysis before opening your artificial intelligence position.
- Technical analysis looks at chart patterns, technical indicators and historical price action
- Fundamental analysis is based on the fundamentals of a company, including its net revenue and profit and loss statements
Interested in analysis? Find out more at IG Academy
Pick your platform and place your AI trade or investment
We’ve got an award-winning trading platform4 – available on desktop or on-the-go with our mobile app. You’ll benefit from in-platform news and analysis from our in-house team of experts and Reuters newsfeeds – as well as a range of technical indicators that you can use to analyse charts and historical price action.
Step-by-step guide to making an AI shares or ETFs trade
Here’s a screenshot of our trading platform, with some steps that take you through how to open a position for CFDs.
- Search for and select your opportunity
- Choose ‘buy’ to go long or ‘sell’ to go short
- Put in your position size
- Set your stops or limits to help manage your risk
- Place your deal and monitor your position
Step-by-step guide to making an AI shares or ETFs investment
Here’s a screenshot of our investment platform, with some steps that take you through how to open an investment position.
- Search for and select your opportunity
- Choose ‘buy’ to open your investment
- Put in your position size
- Set your order type
- Place your deal and monitor your position
Before you open a position on artificial intelligence shares or ETFs, it’s important to take steps to manage your risk. For example, CFDs are leveraged products, meaning that you should familiarise yourself with the impact of leverage on your trading.
We’ve also got free educational courses at IG Academy to help you get the most out of your time on the markets. If you’re not ready to trade with a live account, maybe you’ll want to try our demo – which gives you $20,000 in virtual funds to help build your confidence in a risk-free environment.
1 Based on revenue (published financial statements, 2022).
2 Note for multi-currency accounts: These figures apply to clients who opt for the default setting of 'instant currency conversion'. Clients who choose to convert currencies manually will pay commission of 2 cents per share with a minimum charge of $10 on US stocks and, for European markets, we charge £10 / €10 per trade or 0.1%, whichever is higher. Other fees and charges may apply.
3Place 3 or more share trades in the previous month to qualify for our lowest commission on Australian shares. Other fees and charges may apply. Please visit our Share Trading charges and fees webpages for the full list of fees.
4
Best Finance App, Best Multi-Platform Provider and Best Platform for the Active Trader as awarded at the ADVFN International Financial Awards 2024.
