Buying Stocks.. Where from?

[jxmiller]

What website should I sign up to to start buying and selling stocks? Anyone have a suggestion?

I am about ot get into it here on a small basis, and over time might get into it heavily.

Thanks

[damnyou]

If you are planning to invest $2000 initially, then TD Ameritrade will give you free trades for first month

Another one to look at it is Zecco

http://www.zecco.com/trading/freetrading.aspx

If you prefer to go in person and talk then look at Scottrade

They have offices in major cities

[jxmiller]

If you are planning to invest $2000 initially, then TD Ameritrade will give you free trades for first month

Another one to look at it is Zecco

http://www.zecco.com/trading/freetrading.aspx

If you prefer to go in person and talk then look at Scottrade

They have offices in major cities

Thanks, I will look into Ameritrade.

But just for reference in case anyone else decides to give suggestions here, I plan on investing $50 every 2 weeks. I might be able to get away with initially investing $200, or thereabouts but not much more.

Thanks

[stretchsje]

All the government intervention occurring in America at the moment will deepen and prolong the recession, so while stocks are down at the moment, there's no need to rush into buying them. They haven't hit bottom yet, and if the Great Depression is an indicator, the bounce back won't happen for a few years.

Again due to government intervention, other countries may bounce back a lot quicker than the United States. TD Ameritrade does not have a strong foreign stock exchange program, so you may want to look into someone else. E-Trade can trade on foreign exchanges, I believe.

So while I use and like Ameritrade, I wouldn't recommend it for the current economic climate.

Probably your first $50 would be best spent on a book or two on investing unless you're pretty comfortable with it. I'd recommend this to understand what's happening right now, plus any of the hundreds of decent stock trading books out there:
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Bull-Moves-Markets/dp/047038378X/ref=pd_sim_b_1

[kaif]

Scottrade Scottrade Scottrade....they have the most advanced online platform and the best customer service.

[jxmiller]

I just want to KISS (keep it simple stupid). If there is an easy to use website with no fees or BS, just a way to set up an account, no minimums, and a very cheap trade fee that would be great. Right now I am looking at

https://us.etrade.com/e/t/welcome/openanaccount?SC=NPNT8YD&WT.mc_id=NPNT8YD&WT.srch=1

http://content.sharebuilder.com/mgdcon/jump/Web/welcome/proseasy/index.htm

http://hello.zecco.com/landing/search/search2/?gclid=CN3Tm4_v8pgCFQ0NDQod9BgM0g

Looks like a lot of research time to figure out whats best.

[kaif]

I just want to KISS (keep it simple stupid). If there is an easy to use website with no fees or BS, just a way to set up an account, no minimums, and a very cheap trade fee that would be great. .


Scottrade is easy, $7 dollar trades. You can get 3 free trades if your referred by a Scottrade customer.

See how Scottrade ranks according to JD Power (http://www.scottrade.com/jdpower/index.asp?pid=HPB:JDPower)

[damnyou]

There is another one called ShareBuilder by ING

It is also easy to maintain

[jxmiller]

Not sure if this is the right place.. maybe I can be pointed to another thread..

What is the thoughts about pumping thousands into companies such as these? They are currently VERY low. % wise they can't go much lower without tanking. I feel like dumping a bit into them. Curious your thoughts.

General Motors Corporation GM
Fannie Mae FNM
Freddie Mac FRE
Citigroup Inc. C
American International Group... AIG
Ford Motor Company F

[damnyou]

When the companies get nationalized the stock value will become zero

Citibank is on the brink

[jxmiller]

When the companies get nationalized the stock value will become zero

Citibank is on the brink

What do you mean by nationalized? I could make educated guesses but I don't want to be incorrect, so I am asking you what you mean by that :).

[damnyou]

What do you mean by nationalized? I could make educated guesses but I don't want to be incorrect, so I am asking you what you mean by that :).

read this

http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/23/markets/bondcenter/credit/index.htm?postversion=2009022306

[kaif]

read this

http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/23/markets/bondcenter/credit/index.htm?postversion=2009022306

Citigroup In Talks to Give Government Bigger Stake (http://www.cnbc.com/id/29336870)

"Comparing Citigroup's market capitalization with the number of preferred shares the government currently owns, if these shares were converted right now to common stock, they would worth more than 100 percent of Citi's total market capitalization"

[jxmiller]

Nice infos there. Thanks guys.

[z4m]

Personally, I use Fidelily.com since I'm enrolled in ESPP through my company and they offer me discounted rate due to this fact. Currently, I pay $7 per trade up to 1000 shares of trade. I think regular is $20 or something. I recently saw a Bank Of America ad where they quoted $7 for each trade as well, didn't read the fine print though.

[havok019]

I use Sharebuilder. It's so simple and you can decide how much you want to invest. You can make weekly investments (every Tuesday) or real-time trades. I just do the weekly invests -- 5 trades a week for $20 a month. It's also flexible as you can change which plan you are in from an individual trade at $4 up to the 20 trades for $20 a month. I put in $30 total a week. Not much but it's something.

And if you join penfed.com credit union there's a link on the main page on the right which will award you $50 for creating a Sharebuilder account with your first trade (only has to be $5).

[jxmiller]

Sharebuilder is looking like the one I will choose, seems to be very cheap if you do it right.

[jxmiller]

Dang nevermind.... it costs $10 per trade on sharebuilder

[damnyou]

Scottrade is cheapest one of all mentioned here.

How much do you want to trade every month?

[jxmiller]

Scottrade is cheapest one of all mentioned here.

How much do you want to trade every month?

About $100 to 200. I might start off with $200 initially. Put in either $50 or $100 every 2 weeks.

[bzhayes]

With the amount you are investing you should not be looking at stocks. Fees will eat up too much of your return. You should be investing in index mutual funds. Vangaurd typically has the lowest fee index mutual funds.

[jxmiller]

With the amount you are investing you should not be looking at stocks. Fees will eat up too much of your return. You should be investing in index mutual funds. Vangaurd typically has the lowest fee index mutual funds.

Thanks for your input. So far I have set up 2 accounts Sharebuilder and ScottTrade. I have done nothing with them yet. My concerns at the moment are with those stocks that usually trade around $35-$40 per share and are currently in the 40 cent to $2.00 range. I will have to do some research on the mutual funds to see what is available and how specific you can get with what is invested in.

[damnyou]

For researching you can check the Motely Fool website and forums

[bzhayes]

Thanks for your input. So far I have set up 2 accounts Sharebuilder and ScottTrade. I have done nothing with them yet. My concerns at the moment are with those stocks that usually trade around $35-$40 per share and are currently in the 40 cent to $2.00 range. I will have to do some research on the mutual funds to see what is available and how specific you can get with what is invested in.

Fidelity has a low priced mutual fund (it only buys stocks under $5) that has done pretty well in the past (it had a 5* rating from Morning star). It is actively managed, so fees are a little higher than an index fund but Fidelity usually has pretty low fees. Alternatively, you could look at index funds that focus on the hardest hit areas (such as financials or real estate). You could probably even find an automotive index fund. I personally do not make a transaction incurring a fee (buying stocks, etf's, etc.) unless I am trading greater than $2000. Many mutual funds require you initially invest at least $2500, though many places will waive that requirement if you set up an automatic investment.

I should also add... consumer reports recommends firstrade tops among online brokers. I have no direct experience with them, but consumer reports rates them high because of low transaction fees ($6.95) and a large number of NTF (no transaction fee) mutual funds.

[bestdeal]

Looks like Citibank is recovering, from $0.97 to $3.88 in few days.

Are you the lucky person who get in low and sell in high during this wave?

Anyone knows Interactive Brokers (IB) (http://www.interactivebrokers.com/ibg/main.php) is a good one or not?

[damnyou]

Looks like Citibank is recovering, from $0.97 to $3.88 in few days.

Are you the lucky person who get in low and sell in high during this wave?

Anyone knows Interactive Brokers (IB) (http://www.interactivebrokers.com/ibg/main.php) is a good one or not?

do you do a lot of trading? How much is your confidence level on trading? ( I mean do you not need any assistance while trading)

if answer to both is yes then interactive brokers are good for you

Scottrade can be a good solution for light trading. Interactive Brokers is more for the semi-pro or higher trader. The platform is 10 times better than Scottrade... but much harder to learn.

Another one to look is ThinkOrSwim. They have good support, tools & incredible continuing education (everyday if you listen & watch ShadowTrader), live seminars at least once a week (1-2 hours). Great charting and other tools. Geared for Swing & Day Trading.

Interactive Brokers has some advantages & better pricing.

[chiruanna]

Check out sogotrade also...I'm also in the same boat as you.

I'm looking at scottrade and Sogo.....

[jxmiller]

Looks like Citibank is recovering, from $0.97 to $3.88 in few days.

Are you the lucky person who get in low and sell in high during this wave?

Anyone knows Interactive Brokers (IB) (http://www.interactivebrokers.com/ibg/main.php) is a good one or not?

Yes I got in @ 1.19 on Citigroup. Looking @ Sogotrades now... damn cheap. Anyone have an opinion on sogotrades?

Thanks

[plflorence]

more info on personal experience with sogotrade please!

[DEALVIXEN]

All the government intervention occurring in America at the moment will deepen and prolong the recession, so while stocks are down at the moment, there's no need to rush into buying them. They haven't hit bottom yet, and if the Great Depression is an indicator, the bounce back won't happen for a few years.

Again due to government intervention, other countries may bounce back a lot quicker than the United States. TD Ameritrade does not have a strong foreign stock exchange program, so you may want to look into someone else. E-Trade can trade on foreign exchanges, I believe.

So while I use and like Ameritrade, I wouldn't recommend it for the current economic climate.

Probably your first $50 would be best spent on a book or two on investing unless you're pretty comfortable with it. I'd recommend this to understand what's happening right now, plus any of the hundreds of decent stock trading books out there:
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Book-Bull-Moves-Markets/dp/047038378X/ref=pd_sim_b_1


"Hit bottom," "Hit bottom" they all say. I say on most stocks get in now while still affordable and go long. It doesn't have to be rock bottom, just close enough (undervalued). If you miss the bottom you could come in to late in a rally and be priced out. My advice...look for prices close to what they were on 11/20 2008. If you can get in on a downturn at those prices then I believe you will weather the bottom in any event and greatly benefit off of going long. Most impt thing before you buy is to read the companys balance sheet which is publicly available. Check the bottom line and make sure assets are greater than liabilities. Also find out when they have debt coming due. Stay away from new IPO's and other newbies though in this climate, esp until you are more experienced.

I use Ameritrade now, BTW.

Also check out the CAPS site, create an account, and it will rate you and your picks amongst other users over time. Great tool for beginners.

[fredandbetty]

Looks like Citibank is recovering, from $0.97 to $3.88 in few days.

Are you the lucky person who get in low and sell in high during this wave?

Anyone knows Interactive Brokers (IB) (http://www.interactivebrokers.com/ibg/main.php) is a good one or not?

Yep i got in on Citibank, never heard of Intreractive though....

[ericzhou]

use sogotrade with promotion code 349670 to get 100 free trade

link: www.sogotrade.com (https://www.sogotrade.com/Setup/Default.aspx?rf=349670)

[ericzhou]

sogotrade is a good choice

With promotion code 349670 get 100 free trades!

link: www.sogotrade.com (https://www.sogotrade.com/Setup/Default.aspx?rf=349670)

[Jiya]

Can someone with Ameritrade account refer me.