Options Education - How to open an account
In order to trade stocks and/or options, you will need to have an account with a brokerage firm. The firm will act as the middleman between you and the stock and option exchanges, relaying your buy and sell orders from you to the market makers who can match your order up with someone willing to be on the other side of the trade.
With the advent of the internet browser, there are now a tremendous number of online brokers that allow you to place trades over the internet... and there are, of course, still a lot of good old-fashioned full service brokers around too if you prefer dealing with someone face-to-face (or at least voice-to-voice) when making investments. The important thing to remember when choosing a broker is that you are looking for an outfit that can provide you with the level of service you desire at a price you are willing to pay.
On a separate page, we have included a list of brokerage firms that handle stock and option trades, and before you open an account, we encourage you to contact several of them to learn more about what they offer (or do not offer!) for the service fees and commissions they may charge.
Once you have settled on a brokerage firm to handle your stock (and perhaps option) trades, you will need to fill out a number of forms with them so that they know who you are, what your investment goals are, etc., and you will most likely also be sent additional reading material once you initiate the process of opening a new account.
|
|
|
Download this report
