How to Buy Shares of Stock

1. What Are Stocks?

Stocks are small shares of large companies. When businesses go public, they allow people to invest in their continued growth.

The money they make by selling off small portions of their organizations allow these entities to do things like entering new markets, expand their product and service offerings, get new equipment, open new locations, and more.

As they expand and increase their revenue, the value of these companies goes up. In turn, the value of each share that has been sold off will rise as well.

This increase in value invariably results in greater financial security for every shareholder. If you aren't investing in stocks, then you're missing out on a highly profitable opportunity to make money.

Make sure you learn the difference between stocks vs options. Then you'll know how to buy shares vs options contracts. 

2. How to Buy Shares of Stock Means Doing Your Homework

There are a few different steps you need to take if you want to have success in the market. Foremost among these is learning all you can about the company you want to invest in.

It's essential to find reputable and reliable sources of information and determining which actions and activities are most likely to impact the values of stocks.

For instance, mergers and changes in leadership roles can affect how well companies perform on the stock index. Significant changes like these can lead to short-term losses in value, and then long-term gains.

They may even signify the end of a company's financial health. Being able to interpret the outcomes of these movements is critical for avoiding loss, and being able to profit from potentially profitable dynamic shifts.

For example, something like a stock split will affect share prices. If you know the split is coming, you'll know whether to buy or sell.

3. What Is Your Risk Tolerance?

It is also necessary to look at the many personal factors that are responsible for driving individual investment decisions. For instance, you need to be able to calculate your risk tolerance, and you should also have a solid plan for risk management.

Your risk tolerance indicates how much risk you can take before you begin making highly emotional decisions. As an example, say you exceeded your risk tolerance by leveraging too much money.

Because of this, you are tempted to sell a stock that is losing value before it has a chance to rebound. One word comes to mind in this situation - panic selling, and panic selling is bad.

If you look at the long term history of a stock's performance, most often than not, any stock that goes down comes back up. Your job as an investor or trader is to ride the down wave and wait for the rise back up.

To ride the wave down, make sure you know what does shorting a stock mean. And then you can trade the market up and down. 

4. What Causes Share Prices to Plummet?

So you might be wondering, what causes share prices to plummet? Well, this is something that might happen after a change in leadership.

When a CEO or CFO gets replaced, consumer and investor confidence might wane for a bit, thereby causing prices to drop. Once the new leader steps into his or her role, however, the company could take a new and far more positive direction.

As such, the prices of the related stocks will rise. You will only be able to profit from this positive momentum if your emotions allow you to hold your position for a sufficient amount of time.

Risk tolerance also indicates how much loss you can sustain while still maintaining your ability to bounce back. A good risk management plan will offset risk in specific investment areas through diversification.

This way, if one decides to buy or sell results in a loss, gains in other areas will continue to bolster your overall portfolio. Or you can dip buy on the way up.

Can I Buy Shares Without a Broker?

• If you're learning how to buy shares of stock can you do so without a broker? Nope. In fact, all trading is done through stock market brokers. The best brokerage firms allow you to make money in the stock market. However, make sure you have the proper training. Without that, you'll blow your account up.

1. How to Buy Shares of Stock Means Finding the Right Brokerage Firm

The actual process of investing and buying shares is a lot easier than most people think. That's because there are several reputable companies that handle the actual transactions.

Well established companies like TD Ameritrade, E*Trade and Robinhood, make buying shares as easy as picking out paint colors for your house.

In hindsight, picking paint colors might not be that easy, but at least you have 1,000's of options!

2. The Fees

In my opinion, one of the most significant parts of succeeding in this and many other markets is simply by choosing the right brokerage firm. There are several key factors that you should check when selecting a brokerage firm.

Many of these are directly linked to the cost of individual transactions. A more familiar term we use is commission fees. After all, if transactional fees are too high, they offset any gains that you can make.

Take a look at the costs of using the specific financial instruments that you will be choosing most frequently. Make sure that the transaction fees are reasonable.

3. The Range of Instruments Available

Another factor to look at is the diversity of investment products. When there is a diverse range of investment opportunities available, diversifying your portfolio and managing your overall risk will be easier.

Moreover, it can be cheaper to handle multiple transaction types with a single brokerage than it is to work with a variety of brokers.

All things considered, this will streamline the process of managing and protecting your portfolio as well. Things like gold are safe havens for portfolios. 

As a result, make sure you know the best gold stocks to buy right now.

4. The Trade Execution

One vital factor to think about is how fast individuals brokers can act after a buy or sell order has been submitted.

Timing can mean everything in trading, especially if you want to buy on momentum. In other words, if you're going to capitalize on upward price movement, you certainly don't want your broker to take minutes to execute your trade.

Excessive delays can cause considerable losses, particularly in a volatile market. With all this information in mind, read more for three of my favorite online brokers.

Do I Need a Brokerage Account?

• If you're going to buy shares then you need a brokerage account. They're the facilitator of the stock market. As a result, there are many different brokers to choose from. Check out our LightSpeed review to learn about one of them. Read more below for more options. 

1. Three of the Best Online Brokers

TD Ameritrade, Robinhood and E*Trade are currently ranked as the best online brokers to purchase shares from. Firstly, they are well-established, and they have long and impressive histories of helping consumers grow and manage their wealth.

Secondly, these companies offer a range of supportive and informational resources. Finally and most importantly, they are fully compliant with all regulatory bodies. There is no worry your money is going to disappear with some shady fly by night brokerage.

In Summary

Do you know how to buy shares of stock? Buying shares doesn't have to be complicated. The best way to choose a broker is by looking at how well each of them can cater to your unique range of investment needs. 

Depending on what your goal is - day trading vs. investing, you will likely find that one is better suited to your overall investment goals.

If you're interested in getting started in your trading career, Bullish Bears is here to guide you. We want to see you thrive, not just survive. We will provide you with a solid foundation of education, which is essential for success.

Furthermore, we will teach you proper risk management strategies, so you don't blow up your account and wast your hard-earned dollars. Why don't you check us out for two weeks, you've got nothing to lose. Happy trading!