7 Tips for Choosing an Online Stockbroker

If you are new to the world of investment, selecting a stockbroker that aligns with your own personal needs and investing style can define your success or failure. If you want to make money through investing, you need a brokerage service that is in line with your investment goals, level of experience and educational needs. Choosing a broker who has a diverse range of features and tools like those that are found on the FXTM web trader can make all the difference in your new venture.

While all investment should be based on research and skill, the first step on the way to profitability should always be finding the right online brokerage service for your particular needs. That is why we have decided to put together a short guide to help you assess what it is that you personally require from your ideal brokerage. Read on to find out more.

1. What Are the Broker’s Fees?

The first question that you will probably ask when choosing a broker will probably have to do with fees. There can be a significant difference between what online brokers currently licenced in to operate in South Africa charge in trading fees, commission, spread, financing rates and currency conversion fees. It is best to shop around in order to compare prices to see what type of fee structure best suits you.

2. Does the Broker Deal in the Assets Types That Interest You?

Finding a brokerage that allows the option to trade in the types of financial instruments that interest you is crucial. While most online brokerages deal in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and ETF, only a select few allow you to trade in futures, options and forex. Make sure you check that you a brokerage has the trading options you want before you go through a lengthy verification process.

3. Are There Available Advisory Services?

If you are new to trading, the jargon that you have to get to grips with can be bewildering. You are probably going to need a bit of guidance or at least a sounding board to which you can the field questions and queries that you have about how things work. Many of the better online brokerage services today will provide you with tutorials and account managers to help you on your way to becoming an expert.

4. Which Type of Account?

There are two main types of account that are generally offered by online brokerages. A cash account will allow you to deposit funds and then buy stocks to the amount of money that you have in your account. A margin account, on the other hand, allows you to borrow money from your broker to buy stocks with leverage.

5. Does the Platform Include Research Tools?

Make sure that your broker operates a system of research tools that you feel comfortable with. The charts and graphs showing stock price changes over time should be easy to use and give you all the information you need to feel confident that you have covered all the bases when you buy into a position.

6. How Good is Customer Service?

It does not matter how good an app or service is, there may still come a time when you need to contact customer service to clear something up. When this happens, there is nothing more annoying than not being able to get in touch with a human to straighten the issue out. Choose wisely as some of the cheaper online brokerage services run customer service with limited hours as a means of keeping trading costs competitive.

7. Do You Want Banking Services?

Many stockbrokers offer the opportunity to open a checking account. If you think this will be more convenient for your situation, do some research into what kind of deals these brokers are offering on banking services and how they compare to your current bank.

You may not realize it now, but your choice of online stock broker could have a large impact on how successful you are as a trader. If you answer all of the questions in the sections above before signing up to a brokerage service, you should ensure that you get the one which best suits your particular needs and trading style.

Are You Game for Added Income?

Times are tough for many people across the country, but there are ways to add a little bit your income if you are resourceful enough.

Sure, picking up extra work can help the situation, but do you really have the time and energy for that matter to do more work if you’re already holding down 40+ hours a week?

You can also opt to sell some of your possessions for a little extra money, but that can oftentimes come with some remorse, especially if the item or items have a lot of sentimental value to you or loved ones.

So, where can you turn to find those additional monetary resources to make life a little easier and less stressful?

You Could Land More Money

One avenue to explore is renting out a portion of your landing for those individuals that enjoy hunting.

Okay, while this will not work for those city-folks, that is unless of course they have a piece of property out in the country, it can be the answer for many other individuals and/or families.

Keep in mind that land for hunting, farming, and just general outdoor usage nationwide seems to be harder and harder to find, this as more developers snatch-up land and put down office buildings, shopping centers and more.

As a result, hunters find it more challenging to locate hunting grounds, grounds free from nearby residences and essentially the outside world.

So, this presents those who own a few acres of land with the opportunity to allow hunters the right to hunt on it, provided of course that they abide by the rules you set.

If you’re thinking this might be an opportunity for you to make a little extra money, keep the following factors in mind:

Advertising – Make sure any advertisements you post (online, newspapers, hunting-related magazines, in town etc.) are clear about what you will and won’t allow. The last thing you want is getting embroiled in a suit where someone says you lied or misclassified what they could or could not do on your property. Also be sure that any ads you post have been cleared by your lawyer or attorney, thereby keeping you at a harm’s way in the event something goes wrong (see more below). Essentially look at yourself as a small business, one that must properly market what you have to offer hunters. You could market this on your own, though there are companies out there that will do all the legwork for you;
Safety – Above all else, be sure that safety is always your top priority. It just takes one accident on your property to turn into not only a nightmare for one or more individuals, but a financial headache of potentially imaginable size for you and/or your family. As noted with prior advertising tips, make it abundantly clear where hunters may and may not go on your land. If you have neighbors in the distance, it is wise to alert them that you are thinking of or in fact have rented your acreage out to hunters. Sure, some neighbors may not take too kindly to this, but better they be pre-warned than have an accident involving one or more of them occur;
Finances – Another item that must be spelled out clearly is the financial terms of the deal with anyone wanting to set foot on your property to take advantage of hunting land for lease. Just as you would in many other instances in life, draw-up a contract so that all financial language is clearly understood by both parties. This lessens the chances of there being some negative repercussions for one or both sides;
Reviews – Once you have allowed hunters onto your property to hunt game, review with them each time should they want to come back and work out a new deal. Just as you would hopefully scrutinize any other land deal you are involved in, make sure having others on your land with weapons is in your best interests and those of your family.

If you have an abundance of land or property that is still convenient enough for hunting, do your research and see if you’re game for added income.

Tag: income