Online Investment Banking Questions?

I am going to try and do some online investment banking this summer and was hoping I could get some information from some members here.

Questions:
Which online service is the best? (Most friendly, easy to use, etc.)
-TD Ameritrade
-Charles Schwab
-eTrade
-ScottTrade

What is a good amount of money to start with? I was thinking about $500 (my first paycheck from working this summer)

Any insider tips I should know?

 

I use etrade, but cant tell you if its the best, but I havent had any issues with them. Mainly use them because that where all my options went, so I just use it for all my trades now.

 

Does it have a monthly fee or just like a $10 per trade fee?

 

I use etrade and scotrade. Both very easy to use. Put your $500 down on GM.

 

get some bonds from ford...thier rates are rediculous right now

 

i use td ameritrade,been with them since 1996 when they were waterhouse securities.never had a problem,customer service is excellent.

 

What are the fees like for td ameritrade? How have you been doing in the market? Any tips for a beginner?

 

Depends on what you're looking for. If you want to day trade then a scottrade type discount brokerage is what you're looking for. if you want to go after a no-load mutal fund with a systematic investment($50/month) I'd go with T Rowe Price or something similar. Day trading is good and all but more for expendible funds. If you're looking to invest for a rainy day or some other longer term goal...go the mutal fund route. my 2 cents.

 

Can you explain day trading? I tried to understand the wikipedia definition but I still don't get it.

I pretty sure I don't want to spend $50 per month. I'm just looking to gain some experience in the market over my freshman summer. I'd like to make $500 into $700-$1000 would be my goal probably.

 

i think they only charge 10.00 per transaction.i bought mutual funds when i first started.start off slow and easy,try not to put all of your eggs in one basket.if your in it for the long haul,try mutual funds that dividend reinvest.

 

Day trading is simply jumping in and out of the market. You are attempting to buy low and sell high or sell high and buy low...either way making a profit. Now you're profit needs to exceed your transactional cost in order for your balance to go up, that's why many will go with a discount brokerage if they are going to trade a lot. honestly, mutual funds are a great way to get the ball rolling and help you learn while not 'putting all your eggs in one basket' or banking on just one stock. A mutual fund(depending on which one) could hold multiple cpmpanies so if one goes down you hope that the performance of the others will compensate for it. Good luck with wahtever you decide.

 

x1

 

Had eTrade for years, switched too Scottrade several years back for the $7 trades and tried too close my eTrade account, spent over an hour arguing with the guy, he kept insisting that I keep the account in a dormant state so I could open it again.

I suspect the only reason they refuse to close it is for the same reason it was almost impossible too close an AOL account, they like the member #'s too look good on paper with a high count #

Since then I have requested at least 6 times for verification that the account was closed and they always seem too know my account info but immediately lose the request so somewhere I still have an account buried in their numbers.

 

A mutual fund is like S&P 500 right? I like that idea but I would also like to buy some individual stocks I think just to keep things interesting.

Okay thats what I thought. Thanks!

 

I would not want to discourage your venture into investing because it is a great way to plan for the future.

That being said be very very carefull.
The markets have had me skeered for a few years now.
$500.00 can become $5.00 real fast.
Spread it around which is what a mutual fund is suppose to do.

Take some of the money and buy a book called " If it dosen't go up don't buy it" Al Thomas wrote it.

He has an Email service I subscribe to.
Al is retired from the bizz but still plays a lot.
Real eye opener about how the markets and brokerage houses work.

I will find a link and throw it in here.
Best of luck to you on your investing.


Here you go.
http://www.mutualfundstrategy.com/

 

I use Scottrade and like others can't really say too much about the others cause I haven't used them.

Mutual funds are a good way to start investing because they diversify your money right off the bat. If you were to try to get the same diversification with stocks, you'd be buying a sh*tload of stocks! It's the mutual fund managers' job to pick the best stocks for the fund's objective. Unfortunately that doesn't always mean that the fund goes up in value. You have to be careful no matter if you're investing in stock, bond, or mutual funds. Do your homework and don't invest money that you aren't willing to lose.

Another good mutual fund site is Adam Bold's http://www.mutualfundstore.com/. His tactic is to pick funds based off the fund manager's track record.

 

i would invest in a index fund, all 500 of it. If you buy 5 stocks and your transaction fees are 10$ a trade that's $100 to buy and sell your stocks. You would have to get a 10% return to break even!

Paper trade stocks. Thats how you learn safely.

 

i use charles schwabb. $9 or $10 dollar trades (cant remember if its $8.99 or $9.99). i like them cause you can do your checking with them and the checking account earns interest, plus you get a debit card you can use at any ATM in the US with no fees. the guys there are also very helpful and call you from time to time just to make sure you're good and dont need any help or advice.

as far as amounts to invest, lets put it this way. think about how much you want to put in. if instantly losing all of that money would put you in finanical dire straights, do not invest it. i only invest money that i dont actually need, so if i lose it all it sucks, but i can still pay all my bills and not have to worry about checks bouncing. just be careful cause it can be addicting. i love to gamble and play cards but i limit that activity to a minimum because i could see myself going overboard if i lost my self control. playing teh market is surprisingly similar to gambling (hell, it pretty much is gambling) so if you have a possibly addictive personality (like myself), watch out.