If you have the temerity and the talent to be a stock trader, technological advances now allow you to accomplish this task online. While investment advisers used to be the only ones who could enter a stock trade, now you can do so from the comfort of your own home or office. Many discount brokerages allow you to trade online, and often the price you pay to trade online is cheaper than the cost of placing orders through a broker. Many full-service brokerage firms also offer clients the opportunity to place their own stock trades online.
- Difficulty:
- Moderate
Instructions
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-
1
Pick a broker. Even if you will end up doing all of your stock trading from your own computer, you must first choose a broker to work with and open an account with a firm. Although computer trading makes it seem as if you are doing all the work yourself, in reality when you place a stock trade online it has to be routed through various brokers in order for the trade to be physically executed. If you already work with a stock broker, ask if his firm allows clients to trade online. If not, you will have to open an account with a different firm to trade stocks online.
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2
Open an account. Provide the firm with all requested information, both personal and financial. Typically, you will need to give the firm your Social Security number for tax purposes, and your date of birth, full name and address for both identification and notification purposes. If you plan to trade stocks online with an existing account, ask your adviser if you need to open a separate account for online trading or if you can simply file additional paperwork to allow online trading for your current account.
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3
Complete an online trading authorization. Most firms that offer online trading have their own version of an online trading authorization, but the substance is similar from firm to firm. Generally, an online trading authorization is your written acknowledgment that you understand what you are getting into, and that the firm is not liable for any money you feel you have lost if the online trading system has technical problems.
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4
Fund your account. You cannot begin trading until you have money in your account.
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5
Get an online username and password. While you can sometimes choose your username and password during the account opening process, firms will often send you a username or password themselves after you open the account. You will need this information to log on to your account and begin trading stocks online.
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