Transparency
Candlefocus EditorFor investors, transparency creates a level playing field, providing further protection from any potential scams or imbalanced information. Financial statements, reports, and other documents must be available to investors to review and analyze on their own and gauge the health of a company. Companies must adhere to certain standards of transparency to allow investors to make rational decisions. Without regulation and transparency, the markets would be a wild place, with wide swings in prices, inspired simply by rumour or baseless speculation.
Price transparency, meanwhile, dictates the extent to which all information regarding the stock's price is made available to traders. This can include a stock's bid and ask prices, trading quantities, and any trends that may have been developing over a certain period of time. Investors are thus able to make better-informed decisions, since they are able to observe how the stock is performing on the market over the given period.
Transparency is undeniably paramount for consumers, who can verify and compare offers from various banks or investment firms. All investors are generally looking for the same thing: a fair market, with standardized business practices, and with the possibility for everyone to reach their investment goals, whatever those may be. Transparency provides a firm foundation to build on, whatever the sector or service.