EquiLab: Real-Time Paper Trading Platform for Financial Education and RiskFree Strategy Validation

Abstract

EquiLab is a web-based paper trading platform designed to simulate the complexities of the stock market in a risk-free environment. Modern financial markets are characterized by high volatility, which often serves as a barrier to entry for novice investors due to the psychological and financial impact of potential losses . EquiLab addresses this challenge by providing a high-fidelity simulation using virtual capital, allowing users to execute market orders, manage diversified portfolios, and analyze performance metrics without real-world financial exposure . To address these barriers, the project titled EquiLab is a web-based paper trading platform designed to help users learn and practice stock trading in a safe, risk-free environment. The system simulates real-world trading operations such as buying and selling stocks using virtual funds, while providing features like secure login authentication, portfolio management, and automated profit/loss tracking. Built on a robust MERN (MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node.js) stack and utilizing Next.js for optimized performance, the system incorporates real-time market data handling and a double-entry ledger system to ensure transactional integrity. This paper details the system architecture, the implementation of complex analytical tools like Sharpe ratio calculation and sector exposure tracking, and a comparative analysis against existing financial simulation tools. Index Terms— Financial literacy, paper trading, MERN stack, portfolio analytics, real-time simulation, stock market education, double-entry ledger.