If you plan on buying and selling stocks, then you can’t do it alone. You need a broker to help you do it. Investing is available to a larger number of people these days, so there are many brokers to choose from. The good news is that investing online is cheaper and safer than ever – you still need to find the best online broker for you though. Here are some tips:
What Kind of Investor Are You?
Ask yourself this question. There are many different kinds of investors, and you must know which you are in order to pick the right online broker. You could be a value investor, passive investor, a flipper, or something else. What do you get out of investing? Do you like to take risks? Knowing these things is very important.
Discount Brokers
Each brokerage will offer you a different level of support. A discount brokerage is the best option if you want to do your own research and make buy and sell decisions by yourself. Discount broker reviews can even help you find the best one.
If you need a helping hand, then you might want to choose a full service broker instead.
Whether you choose to go for a discount broker or full service broker, you should find mounds of information online on particular services to help you.
Check the Website Speed
Every second counts in an industry like this, so make sure the broker’s site speed is up to scratch. Visit it at various times in the day to see for yourself. Make sure you log on at peak trading hours too, to see how fast it loads.
Remember; You Get What You Pay For
Price will probably sway you as you look through all of the online brokers available to you. However, if you must go with the absolute cheapest, read the small print first to ensure that it’s actually the cheapest.
Customer Service
Check out a broker’s customer service to see if they offer the level you need. You can call them and see how long it takes you to get through, or send an email and see what you’re offered. Although you hope you won’t ever need customer service, you probably will one day. Make sure it’s up to scratch by testing them out first.
Sweetening the Deal
A lot of brokers will try to get your business be sweetending you up first. They may waive a fee of some kind for example. However, you should still make sure you read the small print to ensure you aren’t being conned into thinking it’s a better deal than it really is.
Now that you should have been able to narrow down your broker, you could take the investing world by storm. Whether you’re taking risks or playing it safe, your broker should give you a good idea of how to proceed.
Do you have any great tips for selecting an online broker? Please leave a comment to let us know!
