A stock broker is the middle man, a facilitator who helps the investors to trade in shares in the stock market. He helps them in buying and selling the shares of the companies whose stocks they are interested in trading. These companies are listed in the stock exchanges. A stock exchange is a kind of stock market. A stockbroker is a stock market expert.



Whether you are a beginner or a veteran in stock trading, it is important for you to find the right stock broker. You trust him with your money for buying stocks that you order. He has also to transfer the money that is due to you after you sell your stock to your bank account.

Your stock broker is the key person who provides you the crucial advice for trading the shares. He recommends which shares to buy, which to sell and which to hold for some time.

He also provides you all the education that enables you to understand the intricate process of stock trading, if you are a beginner. The education may start with the introduction to what is a stock and may continue to the advanced training in the use of fundamental and technical analysis of stock charts. To the experienced traders, the stock broker provides efficient and fast working tools such as symbol finders, latest news flashes, charts and graphics for trading.

Since most of the stock trading takes place online, your stock broker provides the trading platform for online trading. If his web server, for example, is slow, the traders may be put to huge losses due to slow execution of their orders.

If his customer support services are poor, you may feel lost in want of urgent and crucial financial information. A stock broker, therefore, is a hub where all your trading activity takes place and financial transactions about stock trading are executed.

It must also be noted that quite often you invest in stocks keeping in view your long-term interests. For example, you start investing when you are young so that you can reap the benefits when you are retired and old. You want to invest in stock for the education of your children under education plans.

You might like to know what tax benefits are available in different long-term investment plans. All these factors point out that you are entering into a long term, almost life long relationship with your stock broker.

It would, therefore, not be prudent to settle for just any stock broker you come across. You have to do an extensive shopping to find the right person to represent you and protect your interests in your stock trading.

So what should you do to find a right stock broker if you are a beginner?

The best course is to log on to internet and check as many sites of online stockbrokers as you can. Note down the special features, services and benefits that each stock broker offers.

Draw a list of important features and then compare all the stock brokers on the basis of those features. The basic features and services provided by the stockbroker should include, among other things, the experience, certifications, commissions, stock trading tools, trading platform and other benefits.

You list of features and services should also include facilities such as

Online stock trade, broker-assisted trade, scheduled investment orders, Margin Interest Rates and Cash Interest Rates.

The stock brokers have different miscellaneous interest fees that include Electronic confirmation, Electronic statement, Monthly statements and confirmations (hardcopy), Duplicate historical confirmation, Duplicate historical statement, Overnight delivery, Broker Assisted Trade, Margin Sellout, Returned ACH (Electronic Transfer), Returned Checks, Notices, such as Sell out or Buy in, Wire funds out domestic / International, Voluntary reorganizations, Legal items, Certificate delivered out / Reregistered, Regulatory Transaction Fee, Transfer(ACAT) out , Transfer(ACAT) in, Internal Transfer, Account closing, Online confirmations and statements, Annual account maintenance, Inactive account and so on.

They also offer various trading Packages such as Real-time Market Trades, Real-time Limit Trades, Scheduled Investments, Account Minimums, Transfer Funds Fees, Inactivity Fees and Subscription Fees.

There may also be other charges for services like online Equity Trades, fast order execution, customer service, scheduled investment and fractional shares, trading platform, online security, trading technology, dividend reinvestment services, stock news and stock charts.

Any charge on an individual service may not appear significant once in a while, but since you are going to be a regular online stock trader, you have to pay for these services quite frequently. The cumulative impact may eat into your earnings.

So you have to be very careful in choosing your stock broker.