Things You'll Need:
- Internet
- Computer
- Money to invest
- Knowledge or access to information on stocks
-
Step 1
Find an online trading company. There are many online trading companies that allow you to set up and trade stocks online. You may be familiar with some of these companies and new ones are popping up over time. Some of the companies you can look into include eTrade, TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab. Whichever companies you look into, you should research it completely. Be sure to find out what the fees are for setting up and maintaining the account, as well as the per trade fee charged.
-
Step 2
Set up and fund your account. Once you have researched each company and make a decision on which company you want to trade online, it is time to set up and fund your trading account. Each website will have step-by-step instructions on what you need to do to set up your account. Once the account is set up, you will need to either mail in a check or transfer money into the account to fund your online trading account. Funding an online trading account is placing the money in the account that you will use to make trades.
-
Step 3
Research the stocks you want to invest in. Most of these online trading sites also provide research material so you can educate yourself on the stocks and bonds you may be interested in buying. You should do a lot of research on any stock before you decide to invest your money in the stock. These sites also help you to understand finance and trading terminology that you may be familiar with. It is important that you make informed and educated decisions to help reduce the risk of loss of your money.
-
Step 4
Process the buy or sell trade. Once you decide to buy a stock, you will need to process the order. Every site is slightly differently, but each site usually has line-by-line buy "forms" that you need to complete and submit in order to process the trade. This is true whether you are buying or selling a stock.
