How To Get Started In The Stock Market

If you have money that you would like to invest to help grow your overall finances, you might have considered a high interest savings account in a bank, the stock market, bonds, and so forth. Of course, the fastest way to make profit (but also the most risky) is by using the stock market. It is for this reason that people putting money into stocks should have as much information on them as possible to help them avoid losing it all.

1. How Trades Work On The Stock Market

If you are looking to do just one, or many, trades you will need to get a stock broker. Brokers can also offer advice about that stocks to trade and the condition of the market. These full-service brokers charge a relatively high commission. To cut costs, many people use discount brokers that charge significantly less. The downside being that you don’t get expert advice, but if youre willing to forgo that pleasantry you might want to rely on the fact that most brokers will not do a trade that is not profitable.

2. Brokerage Services

Brokers often engage in online trading and can even provide you with assistance for your trades. This is known as broker assisted trading and some brokers offer options like Interactive Voice Response System for placing orders by telephone and wireless trading systems for making orders by using web-enabled cellular phones or other handheld devices. They take their job very seriously and are connected at all times to be able to make a trade.

3. Track Stock Market Movements

Most brokers will put forth the extra effort to be able to allow their clients to place orders over the internet. Special software may also be available to help clients see charts and graphs. The entire system is password protected and usually doesn’t cost a lot more. This can be very convenient and save you time and money.

4. Stock Orders Also, What They Mean

Market Order — The instruction to buy or sell at the current market price
Stop Order — Instructs the broker to trade at a specific price
Limit Order — Instructs the broker to trade at a given price or better
GTC — This stands for good until cancelled. Your desire to buy or sell will be executed until you say stop.

5. The Stereotypical Trade

Your average trade takes place in something called round lots, multiples of 100. While it’s possible to trade other amounts of stocks, but this kind of trade is called an odd lot. Trading software can handle both types of orders, but odd lot orders are slightly more difficult to fill than the most common trade denomination.