Do I really need a broker to buy stocks?
Do you need a broker? The short answer is no—you don't need a living, advice-giving, fee-charging broker (although you shouldn't rule them out). You do, however, need a brokerage—the online storefront where you purchase stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and other investments.
How Can I Buy Stocks Without a Broker? It is possible to buy stocks without a broker. In fact, there are three alternatives to using a full-service broker: opening an online brokerage account, investing in a dividend reinvestment plan, and investing in a direct stock purchase plan.
If you're new to investing or prefer guidance, using a broker can be helpful. If you enjoy hands-on control and have the time to research and manage your investments, doing it yourself is an option. Consider your expertise, time commitment, and risk tolerance when deciding.
When investing in the stock market, it is essential to assess your risk and reward while making sure you are making financially sound decisions. And while you may want to trust your stock broker implicitly, this doesn't always mean they have your best interest in mind.
You can hire a broker, an investment adviser, or a financial planner to help you make investment decisions. You can also get investment advice from most financial institutions that sell investments, including brokerages, banks, mutual fund companies, and insurance companies.
To invest in stocks, open an online brokerage account, add money to the account, and purchase stocks or stock-based funds from there. You can also invest in stocks through a robo-advisor or a financial advisor. If you're ready to invest in stocks yourself, this six-step process may help you get started.
To buy stocks, you'll typically need the assistance of a stockbroker since you cannot simply call up a stock exchange and ask to buy stocks directly. When you use a stockbroker, whether a human being or an online platform, you can choose the investment that you wish to buy or sell and how the trade should be handled.
The amount charged by a brokerage firm for its services can vary greatly. Some firms may charge a flat fee for their services, while others may charge a percentage of the overall value of the transaction. The average fee charged by brokerage firms is typically between 1% and 2% of the total transaction value.
Full-Service Broker Fees
At a full-service broker, you pay a premium for research, education, and advice. But it's important to remember that full-service brokers are also salespeople. The average fee per transaction at a full-service broker is $150.
Full-Service Brokerage Fees
This fee can range from 0.20% to 1.5%, depending on the broker and type of management service. Some may even charge a flat monthly fee instead of a percentage. Note that these fees are different from the fees you may pay an individual financial advisor to help you manage your portfolio.
Do billionaires use stock brokers?
A billionaire may use some or all of these services, but for buying stocks, they may use a prime brokerage specifically to borrow securities for short selling (making money from stocks when they go down) or borrowing large amounts of money to buy stocks on margin.
| Company | Forbes Advisor Rating | Learn more CTA below text |
|---|---|---|
| Interactive Brokers | 4.4 | Via InteractiveBrokers' Secure Website |
| TD Ameritrade | 4.4 | Read Our Full Review |
| Fidelity Investments | 4.4 | Read Our Full Review |
| Charles Schwab | 4.3 | Read Our Full Review |
Most investment accounts hold a small amount of cash, and a broker sweeps that cash into a deposit account that earns interest. A small portion of that interest is paid to the investor, and the brokerage firm pockets the rest. Brokers also sell trades to market makers, which earns them a small fee per trade.
- Ally Invest.
- E-Trade Financial.
- Firstrade.
- Firstrade.
- Webull.
- Merrill Edge.
- SoFi Active Investing.
- Robinhood.
The best time to buy a stock is when an investor has done their research and due diligence, and decided that the investment fits their overall strategy. With that in mind, buying a stock when it is down may be a good idea – and better than buying a stock when it is high.
You need a broker because stock exchanges require that those who execute trades on the exchange be licensed. Another reason is a broker ensures a smooth trading experience between an investor and an exchange and, as is the case with discount brokers, usually won't charge a commission for normal trades.
$3,000 X 12 months = $36,000 per year. $36,000 / 6% dividend yield = $600,000. On the other hand, if you're more risk-averse and prefer a portfolio yielding 2%, you'd need to invest $1.8 million to reach the $3,000 per month target: $3,000 X 12 months = $36,000 per year.
You can open an account with an online brokerage, a full-service brokerage (a more expensive choice) or a trading app such as Robinhood or Webull. Any of these choices will allow you to buy stock in publicly traded companies. However, your bank account or other financial accounts will not allow you to purchase stocks.
The truth is that most investors won't have the money to generate $1,000 per month in dividends; not at first, anyway. Even if you find a market-beating series of investments that average 3% annual yield, you would still need $400,000 in up-front capital to hit your targets. And that's okay.
The first step in buying stock is to open a brokerage account, which is a specialized financial account designed to buy, hold, and sell investments. There are many different brokers, but beginners should generally choose one that is easy to use and doesn't have a minimum initial deposit requirement.
What is the best place to buy stocks?
- Fidelity Investments.
- Robinhood.
- E-Trade.
- Interactive Brokers.
- Merrill Edge.
- Ally Invest.
- Tastytrade.
- WellsTrade.
What's the right number of companies to invest in, even if portfolio size doesn't matter? “Studies show there's statistical significance to the rule of thumb for 20 to 30 stocks to achieve meaningful diversification,” says Aleksandr Spencer, CFA® and chief investment officer at Bogart Wealth.
Brokers can absolutely steal your money, although it isn't common. What tends to happen more often is brokers will steer you into investments that benefit them or into investments they wouldn't themselves make.
That means you could open a brokerage account and start investing with whatever funds you have—whether that's $100 or $1,000. These investment accounts allow you to purchase stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds and other securities. You might even earn interest on your uninvested cash.
- Step 1: Know Your Needs. ...
- Step 2: Narrow the Field. ...
- Step 3: Figure Out the Fees. ...
- Step 4: Test the Broker's Platform. ...
- Step 5: How Well Does the Stock Broker Educate Its Clients? ...
- Step 6: Ease of Depositing and Withdrawing Funds.
