Stockbrokers - Who, how & why.

It was not many years ago when investing in the stock market meant visiting or telephoning your stock broker, paper certificates being issued and kept ?safe? and a limited choice of investments. With the advent of computerised stock exchanges & high security monitoring systems, stock brokers now offer a myriad of services over the internet and have brought investing to a new & exciting level. There may still be private investors who are uncomfortable trading via an online brokerage service, but they are certainly a minority because millions of small investors are more than happy to trade online and this has had the positive effect of reducing the cost of most of the services offered by the brokerage companies. The amount of capital that will be made available for investments and the frequency of trades you will make will influence the sort of broker you will employ. Many online brokers have a sliding scale of charges & commissions that are dependant on the number of trades made. If you intend to trade daily, then find a broker that offers you the best deal for a frequent trader. If you are only going to make a few trades per month or year, then you will pay slightly more for each trade, but the costs will still be significantly lower than trading with an off-line broker and they will be executed almost instantly. Many online brokers offer free services to their clients that can be invaluable when researching a potential investment. These include general information, statistics, investment tools, forecasts & market tips that can really make a difference to a private investor. When choosing an online broker, take some time to look at the services offered, the reliability of the broker & the products that can be traded. Pay attention to the minimum deposit they require for new accounts. Look for online recommendations and general comments in some of the numerous investment forums. An unreliable or misleading brokerage service will soon attract negative press. Once you have chosen a broker you must open an account and deposit a quantity of money. With the current problems of internet fraud & identity theft you will be required to prove your identity, address, national insurance number & bank account details. You may be required to provide physical copies of certain documents. Once all this has been provided, your account will be activated & you can start to make your fortune from almost anywhere!