How to actually buy stocks

All reviews, research, news and assessments of any kind on The Tokenist are compiled using a strict editorial review process by our editorial team. Neither our writers nor our editors receive direct compensation of any kind to publish information on TheTokenist. Our company, Tokenist Media LLC, is community supported and may receive a small commission when you purchase products or services through links on our website. Click here for a full list of our partners and an in-depth explanation on how we get paid. The prevalence of the internet has made it possible to trade any time of the day no matter where in the world you are. Most of the time, if you want to buy stocks, you have to go through a stockbroker.

How to Start Investing in Stocks: A Beginner's Guide

Anyone who lived through the financial crisis of and knows that the turmoil during that period presented a fantastic opportunity to buy stocks. Not everyone realized it at the time, though. There was a lot of fear and trepidation about what could happen next.

It's a similar story today. Most investors probably realize that the stock market crash caused by the coronavirus pandemic will in retrospect be one of the best opportunities to buy stocks in a generation.

But that still doesn't make it easy. As was the case during the financial crisis more than a decade ago, no one knows for sure what might happen next. Should you really buy stocks now?

Would it be smarter to wait a while longer? Here are the answers to those pressing questions. Whatever you think about former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, he said something in that I think is applicable to what's going on now.

Rumsfeld stated, "There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say, we know there are some things we do not know. What are the known knowns for investors? One is that we know the U. Based on the experiences of other countries that were hit by the coronavirus outbreak earlier, the next month or two could bring more bad news than good news. But, more importantly, we also know that the challenges are temporary. That will happen in the U.

The economy will bounce back once the fears about the pandemic subside. However, there are known unknowns. We don't know, for example, exactly how long it will take for the wave of COVID diagnoses to diminish. We don't know how much a government stimulus package will help. And no one knows for sure if the stock market will continue fall and, if so, by how much. All of that might seem confusing, but I think it's helpful in answering the question of whether or not you should buy stocks now or wait a while.

Actually, my view is that considering the known knowns and unknowns should give investors confidence in making the right decision. Based on the known knowns, buying stocks right now is a good idea for investors with a long-term perspective. Knowing that the U. On the other hand, those known unknowns make it apparent that keeping some cash on the sidelines to invest later is also a prudent move.

We don't know how long the coronavirus crisis will last or how much more the stock market might decline. Having money to buy stocks at potentially even cheaper prices makes sense. The right answer to the question, therefore, of should you really buy stocks now or wait a while longer is "do both. This approach should improve your chances of winning over the long run. But there's an even more important question that investors should be asking: Which stocks should I buy? I think there's a nuanced answer to this question.

If you're retired, probably the best course of action is to buy dividend stocks that now have much juicier yields thanks to the stock market crash. Its dividend yield stands at a mouth-watering 6. The company has lost close to one-fourth of its market cap during the stock market sell-off, but patients will need its drugs regardless of what happens with the COVID pandemic. A lot of investors are looking for dirt cheap bargain stocks to buy. It could take a while for the stock to recover, though.

Oil and gas stocks have fallen because of an oil price war in addition to the coronavirus outbreak. However, for long-term investors, Enterprise Products Partners looks like a steal right now. My favorite approach is to incrementally buy shares of stocks with tremendous growth prospects that are now cheaper than they've been in a while.

But the company's liquid biopsy products have a massive opportunity in diagnosing cancer at early stages and monitoring for cancer recurrence. Those are just a few examples of stocks that should be smart long-term picks.

Invest some of your money now, more of it in a couple of weeks, and then continue to buy over the next few months. As was the case in and , fortunes will be made as a result of the opportunity investors will have during the current crisis. Mar 22, at AM. Author Bio Keith began writing for the Fool in and focuses primarily on healthcare investing topics. His background includes serving in management and consulting for the healthcare technology, health insurance, medical device, and pharmacy benefits management industries.

Follow keithspeights. Image source: Getty Images. Stock Advisor launched in February of Join Stock Advisor. Related Articles.

Our Platforms Offer Tools To Help Research Stocks, Place Trades and Manage Your Portfolio. Decide whether to go through an online brokerage firm or through a face-to-face broker.

Legend has it that Joseph Kennedy sold all the stock he owned the day before "Black Thursday," the start of the catastrophic stock market crash. Many investors suffered enormous losses in the crash, which became one of the hallmarks of the Great Depression. What made Kennedy sell?

That is a very good question. Finding stocks to buy is easy, but finding GOOD stocks to buy is challenging.

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How to Buy Stocks: A Step-by-Step Guide

You can set up an account by depositing cash or stocks in a brokerage account. If you prefer buying and selling stocks online, you can use sites like E-Trade or Ameritrade. Those are just two of the most well-known electronic brokerages, but many large firms have online options as well. The broker executes the trade on the your behalf. In turn, he or she earns a commission, normally several cents per share. Online trading sites typically charge lower commission fees, because most of the trading is done electronically.

How to Buy a Stock

Anyone who lived through the financial crisis of and knows that the turmoil during that period presented a fantastic opportunity to buy stocks. Not everyone realized it at the time, though. There was a lot of fear and trepidation about what could happen next. It's a similar story today. Most investors probably realize that the stock market crash caused by the coronavirus pandemic will in retrospect be one of the best opportunities to buy stocks in a generation. But that still doesn't make it easy. As was the case during the financial crisis more than a decade ago, no one knows for sure what might happen next. Should you really buy stocks now?

Achieving this is not easy, but you have to start somewhere. Investing in shares online is one of the best ways to reach this goal.

It requires research and upkeep to make sure your investments continue to perform well. So how do you start the investing process in the first place? Stocks are shares in ownership of a company that you are allowed to buy.

How to Buy Stocks

Investing is a way to set aside money while you are busy with life and have that money work for you so that you can fully reap the rewards of your labor in the future. Investing is a means to a happier ending. Legendary investor Warren Buffett defines investing as "…the process of laying out money now to receive more money in the future. Before you commit your money, you need to answer the question, what kind of investor am I? Some investors want to take an active hand in managing their money's growth, and some prefer to "set it and forget it. Brokers are either full-service or discount. Full-service brokers, as the name implies, give the full range of traditional brokerage services, including financial advice for retirement, healthcare, and everything related to money. They usually only deal with higher-net-worth clients, and they can charge substantial fees, including a percent of your transactions, a percent of your assets they manage, and sometimes a yearly membership fee. Still, traditional brokers justify their high fees by giving advice detailed to your needs. Discount brokers used to be the exception, but now they're the norm. Discount online brokers give you tools to select and place your own transactions, and many of them also offer a set-it-and-forget-it robo-advisory service too. As the space of financial services has progressed in the 21st century, online brokers have added more features, including educational materials on their sites and mobile apps. This is something an investor should take into account if they want to invest in stocks. After the Financial Crisis, a new breed of investment advisor was born: the robo-advisor.

How To Buy Stocks: Complete Field Guide for Investors

Buying stocks can be intimidating, learn the best tips and practices you need to apply when purchasing these investments. This is a crucial first step that will shape your investing career going forward. These various exchanges provide a place where buyers and sellers come together to buy and sell shares, which allows for liquidity and helps ensure that sellers get the highest price possible and buyers can buy at the lowest price possible. Generally, the more shares trading hands every day, the higher the liquidity. Stocks with low liquidity hold increased risk due to the possibility that an investor may be stuck with a stock of which the price is declining and no one to sell the stock to. Understanding how the exchanges work is extremely important to buying your first stocks. Taking a leap into buying stocks may seem like an intimidating task but once you jump in, you are opening up a wealth of investing opportunities.