How can I invest in the stock market? - Page 4

Nice to know that there are so many experts here.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_tra...d_Restrictions)


As far as your question OP. no, you do not need a SS#, an ITIN will do but you will have to file a W-9 form with the broker agency. Just put your ITIN on it.

You're not even reading your own thread!! 3 post down was...

I kind of assumed you would end the discussion after seeing this:

Before crying about unwanted advice read alll of the answers. We're just trying to help you out and you're getting rude with us. Sheesh.

Scottrade seemed to be the most lenient when I was reading up on this. They require the itin, but you must provide a reason as to why you are using an ITIN and not a SS#. I imagine this is how foreign investors trade.

And you are right, this is the best time to invest. When you've got no one to support, bills to pay, or worry about any debts, then why not pick some experience?

As my professor often said, if the stock broker is so damn smart, then why doesn't he take his own advice and isn't rich (referring to letting brokers handle your money)?

I think scottrade required 500$ in a margin account for going long and 1000 when short selling. Look into options since that's where the real money is if you've got little resources (leverage).

PS: There's nothing mythical about the stock market. People see the market fall and others losing their investments as if that's what could happen to someone w/o a economics degree. The reality is that most of these people don't know what they are doing (lucky if 10% know how to protect their stocks). That's right, there is people with too much cash, and little brains who think that is a matter of dumb guessing it. If you know how to read the indicators, and protect your position, then the stock boogie man isn't so scary.

Thank you, this is what I was looking for.

You are right, there is nothing mythical about the stock market. As a matter of fact, I remember that one video where a monkey did better than the broker in a simulation. Nevertheless, it is easy to lose money in the game. If you are someone that only has 5k to your name, then it is not wise to play the game because losing those 5k is really going to hurt. The other thing is that he has plenty of time to invest in the future. Now should be the time for him to learn theory and practice with simulations. He should learn about other markets as well. In this way, he could diversify and spread out his risk far better.

Few steps before investing in stocks
Step 1: Speak to several online discount stockbrokers like Scottrade and E*TRADE. Visit their websites to determine their fees, commissions and reliability of their services. Once you find one you're comfortable with, open a trading account with the stockbroker.

Step 2: Fund your trading account with the online stockbroker. You can do this through checks, wire transfers and bank-to-bank money transfers.

Step 3: Research penny stocks online through forums, bulletin boards, newsletters and news sites. Discussion forums at Zecco, Superior Investor and Online Traders Forum have good research tools for online penny stock traders. Ask your online stockbroker for recommendations.

Step 4: Select the penny stocks to buy. Enter the stock's trading symbol in your stockbroker's online trading platform and buy the stock.

Step 5: Monitor the stock daily through your stockbroker. Sell quickly when the stock price moves up to lock in your profit or when it moves down to limit your loss.

I can't believe why people do not understand that age is not a factor towards becoming successful. You do not have anything to lose, but just a few extra dollars like you mentioned, on the other hand there is no limit on the return you could gain if you make smart moves and decisions with your stock.

I was just wondering where did you learn all this about the stock market, you seem to know a lot and you sound very sure about what you are doing.

I am 24 and I am also paper trading, I already opened an account with Firstrade, I opened the account with an ITIN #. I know that Scottrade also accepts the ITIN, so yes it is possible to open accounts with the ITIN.

Well Good Luck.

yea i also agree with above.. age is not a factor.. i say the more early u start the richer you become..the more experience you can have under your belt. research the billionaires.. they all started so early in their own field of expertise. if you fall get back up. learn from mistakes, never give up.. then you will be a success.

While it is recommend that you learn the basics of buying and selling using a Paper Trade account.

It is not the same as trading a real brokerage account.
I know from experience.

There are technical and psychological reasons.

For example:

On the technical side, you have to consider bid/ask spreads when placing a market order.

On the psychological side: You are now dealing with real money. With paper trading it like playing a video game, you don't really care. However, when you start loosing your real hard earned money, you will care. There will probably be some stress as a result.

Traders and Investors are not the same.
When you are an investor, you buy and hold for the long term(years). Typically only selling when you need to. That's easier and less risky than trading. The best times to invest are typically times when the market is a on a down trend so that you may get a cheap price.

When you are a trader, you buy and sell on a frequent basis. How frequent depends on the person doing it. Some people day trade, some trade every couple of days or weeks. Trading is very risky; comparable to gambling. The point of trading is to make a quick buck and get out. Then do it over and over. The more money that you try to extract from a trade, the more risk you take.

If you intend on making a living from the market, then day trading is what you would need to do. Since the goal is to make a quick buck and get out, you also need to have tons of money to day trade. With $10,000 you should only expect make around $50/day (from a realistic standpoint). Keep in mind the high risks. When you loose money, you will lose more than $50 on that day.

If you plan on opening a brokerage account, plan on depositing at least $1000. Any less and it more of a waste of time. Keep in mind trading commissions. For example Scottrade charges $7/per trade. To buy and later sell a stock thats $14. So if you placed a trade worth $100, that stock needs to go up by 14% just to break even. That could take months assuming that it actually happens.