Assignment Question:
The last couple of years have seen the launch of a number of online ‘Social Trading’ platforms that seek to combine social network technologies and personal investment.
As a starting point for further research on the topic the Social Trading, use the microsite of the publication World Finance (https://www.social-trading.worldfinance.com ).
Briefly summarise what Social Trading is, how it has unfolded over the last two years, and some of the key features of the main platforms.
What are, in your opinion, the possible implications of Social Trading on market models and the theories of markets covered in this module?

Approaching the question:
A full answer to the question will require reflection on the issues that you have encountered throughout the module. It is important to bear in mind that the content of your answer will depend on the argument that you wish to put forward in answer to the question and not solely on the concepts that the question explicitly identifies.
The assignment question is split into two broad sections. As an approximate guide, distribute your effort in answering these two sections in a proportion of 40/60.
This does not mean that each sub-question is worth that % of the total mark, as the overall mark will depend on how well these answers work together rather than as discrete sub-sections.
The first part of the question aims to get you to research further and then describe the phenomenon of Social Trading, giving an in-depth picture of the main platforms that have established themselves in the marketplace and their functionalities.
For the second part of the question you will need to discuss initially the key market models and theories of markets covered in the course and the key concepts and insights associated with them. After this more general outline it will then be possible to focus on those concepts and insights that are of relevance to Social Trading, explaining what in your opinion is this relevance and what implications for these theories might a wider adoption of Social Trading have.

Assessment criteria:
You must address the question asked and not try to re-define it to allow you to write about something else. ‘Not answering the question’ will result in a significant loss of marks.
• Your essay must be properly referenced:
o only sources cited in the text of your answer should be included in the
bibliography;
o all sources (including those for any numeric examples used) should be
acknowledged;
o there should be no references in your answer to sources which are not in your
bibliography BUT if you have not consulted the reference directly yourself you should indicate in the text of your answer the secondary source from which it comes. It is this secondary source which should be in your bibliography.
• While selective quoting within quotation marks is acceptable, listing a reference in the bibliography does not make it acceptable to copy sections of a book or article into your answer. You must aim to summarise more extensive points in your own words.
• Plagiarism is regarded as a most serious instance of academic misconduct and is dealt with accordingly.
• Being asked to discuss something is not the same as being asked to list things. A discussion will consider alternative points of view and your own thinking and evaluation of these points should be central in the discussion of the topic.
It is expected that you will consult academic and professional journals as well as textbooks and other sources.
Many textbooks cover much the same information and you are only duplicating this when you consult numerous different textbooks.
Textbooks tend not to have very up to date content and journal sources are vital for this.
At the same time, indiscriminate referencing is no guarantee of a good assignment. Part of the assessment is to see how able you are to identify and use selectively the most relevant and reliable sources.
In addition to the above, the following points will also contribute to a better quality assignment:
• Evidence of a good understanding of key concepts and ideas
• An argument development that hangs together as a whole
• Inclusion of examples/illustrations where relevant
• Substantiated conclusions
• Last but not least, some creativity and originality