buying stocks online

Whats in for me ?

Online stock investing allows investors to buy or sell stocks through an online stock broker. These stock brokers differ from traditional full service brokers, as they generally do not offer financial planning or stock picking advice.
How Online Stock Investing Works
Investors sign up for an account with an online stock broker service, then typically pay per transaction to buy or sell shares. Online stock brokers are also called discount brokers, as the fees are lower than those charged by full service brokers. However, online stock brokers are more buying and selling agents than financial advisers; the difference in price equates to a difference in the level of service provided.

Step 1:
Buying stocks online is quite simple. But first, you must do your research (see my other articles about that). Once you feel you are ready to begin trading, open up a brokerage account. There are many sites you can go to to open up a brokerage account...

Step 2:
I would recommend either Etrade.com, Ameritrade.com, or Sharebuilder.com. The benefit of the first two is that they provide better tools to help you research your stocks. The benefit of the latter is that it costs only $5 to make a trade (the first two charge $10). So as you start, you might want to use Sharebuilder, and proceed from there. These sites require your personal information, but don't be alarmed. It is 100% safe.

Step 3:
Once your account is opened, and you know what stock you want to buy, it's time to trade! Click on the "Trade" tab. Type in the ticker symbol of the stock you want to buy. If you don't know the ticker symbol, you can Google the name of the company and the phrase 'ticker symbol' and it will come up. Next, put in how many shares you want to buy. Then type in what price you want to buy it at. For the sake of this article, "Market orders" are sufficient. Basically that means you are going to purchase the stock for the price it is selling at currently. Make sure to do your research before buying stocks. Feel free to refer to my other articles to learn more and good luck!


Yan Desjardins | stock specialist