How to Make Mock Stock Investments
Mock stock investing is a good learning tool that can help you learn about the stock market while testing your skills, without placing your money at risk. With the internet, you can make mock stock investments using actual real-time market information, and see how market trends and news both locally and worldwide affects your investments. Getting started is only a matter of setting up an account and keying in your first purchase order.
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Instructions
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Locate a website that allows you to open and operate a virtual stock trading account. Most large online brokerage firms offer these accounts for free, while others require that you open an actual account to access a virtual one. The big advantage is a chance to practice on the same platform the actual account is traded with. You can also open virtual accounts with sites like Yahoo! Finance, though these accounts are usually "position only" accounts, where you must key in buys and sells manually.
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Gain access to real-time stock market information. For an accurate mock investment, you'll need accurate, up-to-date information. Most financial websites offer delayed quotes, but you can get real-time information from financial television channels, or by paying to subscribe to a premium service that streams real-time quotes to you via a market ticker.
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Watch the markets and buy your stock. If using a virtual brokerage account, you should key in the buy transaction. The brokerage will deplete your virtual account by the necessary amount and then add the stock purchase to your virtual portfolio. If using a position account, mark down the price and number of shares purchased, and then key the information into your account, saving it for later viewing. Sell your stocks using the same procedure as stock purchases.
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Keep track of your portfolio and your funds available. Many virtual trading accounts allow you to set a limit of funds available when you open the account, but for position accounts you'll have to keep track manually to keep from making trades from an endless money source.
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Tips & Warnings
Test your skills at trading against other mock investors with online virtual stock market games.
