Stock Market Trading Help?

Question

I am looking to try investing in the stock market but I want to do it the cheapest way possible thru the internet. I know about scottrade and fidelity and all those websites, but I want to know which one is the cheapest and most convenient?

Answer 1

This is the type of question that will get you 1000 different answers, with 1000 different links.

Myself, I prefer using the program called "Marl"...it's a stock trading robot (yes, really..don't laugh).  Using an initial investment of $1000 I made about $350.00 a week with it..usually while i'm sleeping which is rather nice too.

Now that I've made money, I've invested alot more...and lets just say, the money is nice.  :)

Anyways, if you do want to check it out,

There is an article here:

http://www.squidoo.com/Stock-Trading-For...

I hope this helps

Jeff

Answer 2

Hey -- you've got a good head on your shoulders to be concerned about costs.  

Overall, you want to make the most money possible.  One way to do that is to reduce your costs of investing, but there are a number of things to weigh...

If your investment strategy is to engage in a lot of trades per day, then I suppose you'd want to be worried about how much you're paying per trade.  A lot of trades makes those costs really add up (hopefully, your investment strategy will more than make up for it...)

I'm a big advocate of value investing (finding great companies to invest in, buying them at the right price, and only selling once they become overvalued...).  As a value investor, I generally do not worry that much about what the transaction (buy/sell) costs are, because I don't trade a lot.  If I decide to sell, and I've made, say, $10,000 on my total investment, I'm probably not going to be concerned with whether the price is $7 or $12 per trade.

Regarding costs, pick a good discount broker (Scotttrade, Charles Schwab, E*Trade, Fidelity, TD Ameritrade -- all are good) and choose the one that works best for you.  Some have low (or no) minimum balance requirements, while others charge $7 per trade or $12 per trade.

Of course, another cost factor is short-term versus long-term capital gains taxes.  If you engage in a high-turnover trading strategy, you're going to end up paying short-term capital gains on all of your profits.

If, however, you keep the stock you purchase for more than one year, you can cut your capital gains taxes by half or more.  So, $7 per trade wouldn't matter here -- your total tax bill would be your biggest cost...

So, I would say, first, learn more about and pick your investment strategy.  If you become a long-term value investor, I wouldn't worry so much about the transaction costs -- your strategy (and your discipline in applying your strategy) will be the determining factor about how much you make...  Just pick the discount broker that you are the most comfortable with...

Hope this helps, and good luck!!

Answer 3

Interactive Brokers may be the cheapest.  But you have to check this out yourself.  And for ease of use, it depends on what kind of trading you want to do.  Some brokerages are better for daytrading, while others are better for less-frequent trading.

Here is the website for Interactive Brokers:

http://individuals.interactivebrokers.co...

Answer 4

I use Scottrade.  7$ a trade (meaning 7 to buy 7 to sell).  Since I am new to trading they are a great resource as well.  Call them up and you will talk to a real person and get a straight up answer.  This is one of the reasons I am still with them.  There are cheaper alternatives like Zecco (seems to be the cheapest).  But its not a "real" broker like scottrade.  I would recommend scottrade, but if you have a small account and you don't want 7$ trades try Zecco.  Scottrade is still a bargin compared to Charles Swab, TJ Ameritrade, and etrade.

Answer 5

Both Scottrade & Fidelity have been in the business for years and both enjoy well earned reputations, so it's an even up deal.  Both are extremely convienent,

All major brokerage firms offer on-line services for their customers.  Judging by the wording of your question, you're new to investing, it would be in your best interest, to learn what your are doing before you do any investing.

Fidelity would be more willing to hold you hand than would Scottrade, but Fidelity's, like all major firms, commissions are based on the size of your account and the frequency of trades.

The cheapest is not always the best.