How to Buy First Stock on ETrade
Through the use of an intuitive website interface, E*Trade attempts to make investing as comfortable and simple as possible. Although buying a stock for the first time anywhere can be intimidating, E*Trade eases the way for investors with extensive stock research and investment tutorials on its website. The do-it-yourself aspect to investing with E*Trade also eliminates the feeling that someone is looking over your shoulder, trying to sell you a product. At the same time, if you ever get confused with the website and need help, you can always call an E*Trade adviser.
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Instructions
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Open an E*Trade account. In a few simple steps, anyone can open an account online at E*Trade. You will need to provide some personal and financial information, such as date of birth, Social Security number, and investment experience. You will also need to fund your account, either with a check or a wire transfer. E*Trade has a vast array of online investing tools, and depending on your financial experience, you should spend some time getting familiar with both the details of the website and with investment principles in general.
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Research investments. Before you can buy your first stock, you should perform some investment analysis and find a stock that is appropriate for your account. Some of the basic factors to consider when choosing stocks include your time horizon (how long you intend to keep the investment) and your risk tolerance (how much you can handle fluctuations in account value). Other factors to consider include current stock market sentiment, industry news specific to your stock, and the stock chart pattern (how the stock has been trading in the marketplace). E*Trade has various online tutorials and investor tools to help you with your stock selection process. Additionally, at E*Trade, accounts over $10,000 in value have access to an online financial adviser, who can also help you with your stock selection.
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Purchase your stock. On the order entry page of the E*Trade website, fill in the drop-down menus and enter your trade. When you are buying your first stock, you will indicate that your order is a "buy" order, and you will specify the stock symbol and how many shares you wish to purchase. You will also specify whether you want to buy at a specific price (a "limit" price), or if you just wish to place an order for your shares at the current market price.
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Check your execution. After you enter your first order, you will receive a confirmation from E*Trade indicating the stock you bought, and the price. Confirm that this is the stock you wished to purchase, and that it was bought at the right price, and keep this information for your records. When the time comes to sell your stock, you will need this information to complete your tax return.
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