I want to buy small stock shares in the stock market but I don't know how to get started. Would I need to go through a broker? What kind of broker would I need exactly since i'm not a company? An inexpensive one more than likely. I have a business in line that I would like to buy a small stock from but I just don't know how much it would cost. How much money would that run and if its a good stock, how much would I be able to receive? I'm not trying to make millions, maybe thousands. Please help me.
2006-11-07 05:18:48 · 7 answers · asked by ? 3 in Business & Finance ➔ Investing
I really don't mean to be a downer, but there is a lot of learning to do before jumping right in. I would read anything and everything you can, because otherwise, any money you invest will probably (very probably) never come back.
Please understand: I'm not saying you're not capable or intelligent, or wise. You may be all of those things. But believing that you can play football and signing up to play a game with professionals are two different things. Because you lack experience, you will probably get creamed - it's no indication of your intelligence or ability, but experience.
There is no such thing as a "good stock" or a "hot stock" - anyone who tells you that is probably selling something.
If you find what I'm saying tedious, or if you find researching the stock market tedious, then buy mutual funds. If my answer makes you angry, please first only bet (yes, you are betting) a very small amount of money.
After a good amount of experience (you will know when you've been through the ups and downs - even with small amounts of money) it is possible to be very successful trading. But for the vast majority, only after that experience.
2006-11-07 05:33:58 · answer #1 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The best way to start investing in stock is to begin with an online simulator, that is a service the follows the stock market but uses fake money.
Jumping in and getting burned might cause you to lose heart and money and also rob you of the potential to make money.
Go to investopedia.com or any other simulator and open a free account. Investopedia will start you off with $100,000 to trade based on real stock prices. This will help you get a feel for the market and a glimpse to how stocks work. It will also, and most importantly, let you know what your risk tolerance level is. Invest this way for a few months and then take the suggestions made by the previous contributors and register with e-trade or scotttrade or any other online or offline broker.
Honestly, if you know what you are doing and invest wisely the brokers' fees become irrelevant as long as they are close to the industry standard.
2006-11-07 20:11:28 · answer #2 · answered by Daniel N 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Buying and selling shares is not the sort of thing one takes likely. the uneducated can lose money fast. Make sure you read up on as much as you can about trading stocks. There are many good websites out there to help you about techniques and fundamentals.
If you need an online broker you really can't go wroing with scottrade as there are no monthly fees and only a $500 minimum balance is necessary otherwise a great alternative would be TD Ameritrade or Izone.
I strongly suggest once you get the trading screens up and running online PAPER TRADE first and see how you do. don't jump straight in with real money. So how you would do if you were using fake money.
2006-11-07 14:57:32 · answer #3 · answered by Wibble 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes you would need a broker. There are other ways to trade without a broker but I do not suggest you do so at such anearly stage in your investment career. According to your broker they will charge differently, usually a commission on how much you trade, usually 7%. I suggest a good broker though, as they would give you better and more timely advice and you would be less susecptible to scams. I suggest this website...
2006-11-07 13:31:09 · answer #4 · answered by ludacrusher 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Go online to www.etrade.com and open an account. You just need to send them a check or wire the money to fund the account, then you can buy and sell shares of any stock you want. I have accounts at 3 different online brokerage houses, but Etrade is the easiest to use. They also have online tutorials to help get you started.
2006-11-07 13:30:38 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Get started by finding the right broker to help you help yourself. Try http://www.scottrade.com/
2006-11-07 18:33:58 · answer #6 · answered by Mike S 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes!
2006-11-07 13:19:47 · answer #7 · answered by psycho 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋