Stock Market Investing Tips : Online Stock Trading Advice

Stock Market Investing Tips : Online Stock Trading Advice

Mark Griffith, and this is a brief introduction to online stock trading. There are a large number of companies whose shares you can buy and sell online, and there are first a few things you're going to have to find out about obtaining a broker, or otherwise trading the shares from your computer. There are plenty of brokers, like E-Trade, Charles Schwab, Bank of America, that perform this service. And when you are shopping around, you want to check out the different brokers and see what kind of deal they offer you.

There are a number of things to look for. Check what the trade is....what the cost of trading is. Generally, there's a charge per lot, and generally there's a charge per trade. You need to look out for trades charges and for lot charges. So, one lot is one share. Three lots is three shares. And typically, if you buy a group of shares, for example, say you buy ten at once, you will be charged ten times for the lot charge, and once for the trade charge. So, look at the different brokers. Some of them have very low lot charges, or none at all. Some of them have low trade charges or none at all.

Some demand that you buy or sell a minimum number of shares at a time, or they demand that you do a trade of a certain size. So look at the restrictions, look at the ways in which you're spending more money, distinguished between these different companies. And then, of course, just as with any investment, you should consider why you want to invest. What purposes you have, long term, short term. Look at the profiles of the different companies. Do you want to day trade, which means closing your position each night. Do you want to have positions that last one or two weeks, or are you very much looking to buy and hold for long term investments. All this is just the same as any other kind of investing. Another thing to look for when you're judging online trading, is what kind of platform the broker has. Platform is usually a screen that opens up, or window that opens up on your computer screen, and some are harder to use than others. And you need to check some out. Some will be confusing, some will be more intuitive, it's a good idea as well if they have a good charting package so that you can see where the prices are going and easily understand things.

Another thing to do before you get into this actively is to paper trade, which means do some imaginary trades, but do them rigorously. So, if you think, "Oh, I would've bought then," write down then what you would've bought, how many, and actually watch during the day. Did you lose imaginary money, or did you make imaginary money? If you can be self-disciplined, and keep track of all that, then you should be able to find that you can trade and invest online successfully.

So be careful, do your research. Good luck. .
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