Taking the time to learn about stocks doesn’t necessarily mean attending a physical school or getting a finance degree, an online trading academy can teach you all you need to know, meaning you can learn at your own pace – and the courses are designed to take you from being a complete novice to a confident stock investor.
To make the right decisions about the stock market, the best thing you can do is learn more about stocks, different investment strategies, how to read the markets, and the different ways you can make money. The more you understand about stocks and the stock market, the more likely you are to make better decisions and spend your money wisely.
Why Choose Stocks?
Famous investor Warren Buffett is often quoted when it comes to investing in stocks – and it is not hard to see why when he is known for his clever investments.
Stocks are essentially portions of ownership that an investor can buy through the stock market. Owning a share of the business means that you can receive dividends from the profit of the company – regular payments that are a bit like interest on a savings account – but the long-term goal is for your stock holding to be worth more when you come to sell it later. And Warren Buffett states that it should be much, later. When he wrote his letter to stakeholders in 1996, he stated “If you aren’t willing to own a stock for ten years, don’t even think about owning it for ten minutes.” Long-term investment in stocks can bring excellent returns, if you choose the right companies to invest in.
Getting Started with Stocks
Once you have learned more about stocks and investing using a trading academy, you will want to find a broker that allows you access to the markets that you want.
There are several considerations that you should make before choosing a broker, however – you want to make sure that the broker offers you the type of investing that you want, at a competitive price, and with excellent educational and research resources. Some thoughts on how to choose your broker include:
- Investment Strategy
Are you wanting to be a hands-on investor? Do you want to choose your own investments based on your own research, looking at charts and fundamental data, calculating potential profits and buying in at the right time? Or are you more passive, and would prefer to let a manager guide your investments? Each method has its advantages and disadvantages, but if you have completed a stock trading course you might be more inclined to be more involved.
- Tools and Extras
More than just access to the markets, a broker needs to be able to provide you with the tools you need to make the best investment decisions. For the beginner investor, extra education and a demo account might be important, for example. More confident or experienced investors might be more interested in the depth of available research, including charting tools, opinion-based research, fundamental and analytical data, and things like heatmaps or social discussion. Investors who want to diversify their portfolio might choose a stock broker that also offers opportunities to buy and sell other instruments like forex, cryptocurrency, commodities or CFDs.
- Investing Goals
Are you choosing to buy stocks to fund a retirement account for the future, or are you looking to make a leap into a full-time investment career? Your goals should guide your strategy, and the broker you choose should be able to manage the way you want to invest, too.
- Fees
Aside from the obvious costs of investments, brokerages have fees. There are all sorts of fees to consider, from account fees, withdrawal and deposit fees, and inactivity fees to commission on each investment. Online brokers tend to be the cheapest, but if you are working with an investment advisor then there will be further costs to consider. The cheapest broker might not always be the best for your needs, so don’t make fees the only consideration.
Savvy Stock Investments Need Research
When you are getting started in your investment journey, you might already have an idea of the companies you want to invest in – the top performers are an obvious choice.
However, stock prices for companies like Apple, Tesla, Shell, and AstraZeneca are already high, and that is where your education and knowledge come into play – so you can choose the right stocks to buy at the right time and grow your portfolio.
The aim of your investments should always be to make money, and a trading education can help you diversify and grow your money.
