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- Open a stockbroker account: Find a good online stock broker and open an account. Become familiarized with the layout and to take advantage of the free trading tools and research offered to clients only. Some brokers even offer virtual trading which is extremely beneficial because you can trade with play money (see #9 below). A great tool for comparing online brokers can be found at StockBrokers.com.
- Read Books: Books provide a wealth of information and are inexpensive compared to the costs of classes, seminars, and educational DVDs sold across the web. Here on the site we have a full list of 20 great stock trading books for investors to consider. My personal all-time favorite is How to Make Money in Stocks by William O’Neil, founder of CANSLIM Trading.
- Read Articles: Articles are a fantastic resource for education. Our free Stock Education page here on StockTrader.com lists over 100 unique investment articles broken down into categories. Recommended websites for education are Google search and investopedia.com. Forums can be another source for question and answer. Two recommendations include Elite Trader and Trade2Win.
- Find a mentor: A mentor could be a family member, a friend, a past or current professor, co-worker, or any individual that has a fundamental understanding of the stock market. A good mentor is willing to answer questions, provide help, recommend useful resources, and keep spirits up when the market gets tough. All successful investors of the past and present have had mentors during their early days.
- Study the greats: Learning about the greatest investors of years past will provide perspective, inspiration, and appreciation for the game which is the stock market. Greats include Warren Buffett, Jesse Livermore, George Soros, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch, John Templeton and Paul Tudor Jones, among others. One of my favorite book series is the Market Wizards by Jack Schwager.
- Follow the market: News sites such as Yahoo Finance and Google Finance serve as a great resource for new investors. For in depth coverage, look no further than the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. By monitoring the markets each day and reading headline stories investors can expose themselves to trends, 3rd party analysis, not to mention economic concepts and general business. Pulling quotes and observing fundamental data can also serve as another good source of exposure.
TV is another way to monitor the market each day with CNBC being the most popular channel. Even turning on CNBC for 15 minutes a day will broaden an investor’s knowledge base. Don’t let the lingo or the style of news be a nuisance, just simply watch and allow the commentators, interviews, and discussions to soak in. Beware though, over time you may find that a lot of the investing shows on TV are more of a distraction and are overall full of junky recommendations. This is a natural evolution; you are not alone! - Paid Subscriptions: Paying for research and analysis can be both educational and useful. Some investors may find watching or observing market professionals to be more beneficial than trying to apply newly learned lessons themselves. There are a slew of paid subscription sites available across the web, the key is in finding the right ones for you. View a list of the services I use use myself which include Dan Zanger and Bespoke Premium. Other well respected services include Investors.com and Morningstar, to name two.
- Go to seminars, take classes: Seminars can provide valuable insight into the overall market and specific investment types. Most seminars will focus on one specific aspect of the market and how the speaker has found success utilizing their own strategies over the years. Examples include Dan Zanger and Mark Minervini. Not all seminars have be paid for either. Some seminars are provided free which can be a beneficial experience, just be conscious of the sales pitch that will almost always come at the end.
- Buy your first stock or practice trading through a simulator: With your online broker account setup, the best way to get started it to simply take the plunge and make your first trade. Don’t be afraid to start small, even 10 or 20 shares will serve its purpose of getting you in the game.If trading with real capital is not possible initially or not of interest, consider using a stock simulator for virtual trading. A variety of online brokers offer virtual trading for practicing. One of the most common mistakes traders make is to go all-in and try to score big with a full portfolio position out of the gate. This is an often painful mistake and why many new investors suffer big losses early on. Proper portfolio allocation is extremely important. For more tips of wisdom, see my article, 60 Stock Tips for Investment Success.
- Sign up for our free daily market recaps: Join over 17,000 other investors and receive our daily posts via email using the subscribe box below or on the sidebar. I invite all new investors to make StockTradingToGo a part of their daily investment routine.
SureTrader - Day Trading
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How do I trade?
To trade on the SureTrader trading platform, we offer 3 convenient applications. Free to all users is Mobile SureTrader & SureTrader ActiveWeb In addition, we offer SureTrader Pro, a powerful, Level-2 Trading, Desktop Software package for $50/month.
What is the minimum balance to open an account?
For a cash account, the minimum is $500. For a margin account the minimum is also $500. There are NO Pattern day trading rules for our accounts and you do not need a balance of $25,000 to day trade. You may day trade with only a $500 minimum.
What is the cost or the commission on a trade?
It’s $4.95 per equity trade, up to 1,000 shares. For options, it’s an additional $1.00 per option contract. You may refer to our pricing page.
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