Stock Market

INVESTING IN THE STOCK MARKET

• Decide what kind of account you want to open. 

From retirement savings to college savings, from short-term goals to long, there really is an investment account for everything.

• Open a brokerage account. 

Once you’ve decided what kind of account you want, you’re ready to open an account at a provider called a brokerage. When choosing a company, consider their fees and available investment options.

• Deposit money. 

To get started, you need to make an initial deposit. You can also set up recurring deposits to automate your investments going forward.

• Choose your investments. 

Once your account is open, you can buy and sell securities. Many experts recommend a diversified, fund-based approach to minimize the risk any one bad investment loses your money.

• Purchase your investments. 

Once you’ve settled on what you want to buy, simply enter the ticker symbol in the buy field and indicate how many shares you want to buy.

OTHER TYPES OF MARKETS

• Over-the-Counter Markets. 

OTC markets provide a venue for trading that takes place outside of major exchanges. OTC trades are primarily made directly between sellers and buyers, and prices may or may not be publicly available. 

• Commodities Markets. 

Raw materials like steel, coal and oil are traded on commodities markets. There are around 50 major commodity markets worldwide that facilitate trade in a wide range of commodities.

• Derivatives. 

Derivatives are financial contracts like options whose value is tied to an underlying asset. These are essentially contractual bets about whether individual securities’ values will rise or fall. 

• Foreign Exchange Markets. 

Forex trading is a borderless, international market for exchanging currencies. Forex traders take advantage of the constantly fluctuating value of different currencies to make profits, and help provide liquidity for international trade.

• Cryptocurrency. 

Bitcoin, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies are traded on specialized crypto exchanges.