Hi, I’m 19 and I have about 400 dollars that I would like to invest. I’ve looked around online and I’ve found sites such as Etrade and Scottrade, both of which seem like good options for me. However, I’m not very well versed in this stuff and I’ve never dealt with stocks before, so I was wondering if there is a website you’d recommend that is best for beginners? Or one that is cheaper per trade (I think Etrade is $10.00 per trade and Scottrade is $7.00, though I could be wrong on how that works)? I think it’s pretty obvious that I don’t know much about this stuff, so any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Categorized | Affiliate Marketing 101
Which Website Is Best For Someone New To Investing?
Posted on January 1, 2013.
All major brokerage firms provide their clients with on-line services, including trading platforms, latest market & financial news and research.
Customer need to select the site that is best for them. Traders have requirements in a site, while investors have other requirements.
Although most sites are geared to general securities and commodities, however customers may have special needs for the types of products they trade, and the markets in which they trade. For example I use Fidelity for investing. Scottrade for equities trading and ThinkorSwim for option trading
It seems that the most popular firms for on-line investing/trading all of which provide excellent platforms and services are; Scottrade; Chas.Schwab; TDAmeritrade; Fidelity; E-Trade and Thinkorswim.
You should NEVER let price be the determining factor in deciding what web sites to use, you can look at Sharebuilder, a very cheap site, but very poor in services, and products – so cheap is not the way to go. Also most reputable firms will require an initial deposit of $500 in order to open an account.
Before you spend $0.01 on any investment, you must know what you’re doing, why you’re doing it and how to do it. Before you invest in any security, the first investment you should make is in yourself, and the best investment you can make is by educating yourself.
Begin your education by learning why you should invest and the importance of being able to make your own decisions or how the pro’s make theirs. Start your education by reading “Investing or Dummies” by Eric Tyson.
If you still want to invest you should select some of the following
Beating the Street by Peter Lynch
Bulls Make Money, Bears Make Money, Pigs Get Slaughtered, by Gallea
From Riches to Rags, by I.C. Freeley
Millionaire Traders, Lein & Schlosberg
How to Make Money in Stocks” by William O’Neil
24 Essential Lessons for Investment Success by William O’Neil
The Intelligent Investor, by Benjamin Graham
Common Stocks, Uncommon Profits, by Philip A. Fisher
One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch
Stocks for the Long Run, by Jeremy Siegel
Trading for a Living, by Alexander Elder
Uncover the Secret Hiding Places of Stock Market Profits by Joel Greenblatt.
What Works on Wall Street by James O’Shaunessey
You Can Be a Stock Market Genius by Joel Greenblatt
Your Money and Your Brain by Jason Zweig
Websites that can provide instructions and help with procedures and terminology are Investopedia – http://www.investopedia.com/ http://www.investorshub.com/ and 1 Source for Stocks – http://www.1source4stocks.com/info/stock… or Smart Money http://www.smartmoney.com/
Visit some of the more professional websites like Zacks Research – http://www.zacks.com/ Schaeffer’s http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/ Investors Business Daily – http://www.investors.com/default.htm?fro…
Some of these web sites will have advertisers who are worth looking into also. And remember, if they offer free information, get it.
Attend all the free seminars you can, just be careful and don’t get pressured into anything you really don’t want or need. Most schools offer courses in finance and economics, but very few will have courses on the mechanics of the investment markets, if they do try taking the course. You may want to consider on-line courses, the New York Institute of Finance use to have such courses. Try to get some fee information from The stocks exchanges they all have (had) free booklets, SIAC and some of the regulators (FINRA SEC MSRB CBOE) may provide some free literature.
And when you think you want to invest/trade, try some paper trading to test your skills without spending you money http://simulatorinvestopedia.com/ http://www.moneyworks4me.com/
and/or http://www.tradingsimulation.com/
You at least have made the right decision to start investing, this is the first big step and it won’t be your last. Keep taking those steps forward and along the way never take the advice from people that are not in the market or try to tell you not to invest.
Good luck on journey, study hard and you’ll invest well.
I believe scottrade is the cheapest, but I do think you have to log a certain number of trades in a given time period to get that price. Fact is, you shouldn’t be trading with real money right off the bat. Go to Barnes & Noble, get a couple intro books on investing. Learn how to read a chart, and start making theoretical trades on paper, with no real money, till you’re confident you know what you’re doing. Pick up a book on options as well, as that’s gonna be the quickest way to grow your money. If you know what you’re doing, options are no riskier than actual stocks, and your returns will be greater over a shorter period of time.
i think you need to research the term “minimum initial deposit”.
come on back after you do that. my research indicates 400 is not enough for EITHER firm.
Fidelity .com