How to Train as an Online Stock Trader
Shares of publicly traded companies are bought and sold in stock markets. Stock exchanges are located in dozens of major cities, but shares are traded electronically, so anyone can invest in companies listed on both domestic and foreign exchanges. Most people invest in stocks on a long-term basis, but many others are traders who just hold stocks for a few hours, days or weeks. Day traders, by definition, close any positions at the end of the trading day. Other traders take a position based on anticipated news or other reasons, and hold the position until the stock moves up or down on the news. Practice trading on a free online simulated brokerage account to train as a stock trader.
Educate yourself about equities, stock markets and stock trading. You can take an introduction to stock investing class at your local community college or take advantage of the scores of websites offering free webinars or other educational materials on stock trading. Stock message boards are also a great resource to learn more about stock trading and to find a wide range of opinions about individual stocks.
Set up a simulated account to practice stock trading. Some major brokerages, such as TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab/OptionsExpress and TradeMonster, offer free simulated stock trading accounts, as do many other educational and stock-related websites.
Practice trading stocks for at least a couple of months before you create a real money account and begin trading stocks. Try several different trading strategies and compare the results. Take notes to remind yourself when a particular strategy worked well or didn't work. Keep in mind that all stock traders have losing trades; the key is making sure to not lose too much on any given trade.
Create a real money account and deposit funds for trading. It may take two or three days for the funds to be credited. You can buy or sell virtually any stock or option at any major stock exchange worldwide using your online account, but you can also place an order with a representative by phone for an additional fee. Stocks are sold in a live auction format, where you submit a bid for a specific number of shares at a specific price through your brokerage account, and the sale does not occur until another market participant chooses to sell that many shares at that price. If you bid the current market price of the stock, that means you are bidding on shares that someone has already agreed to sell at that price and your bid is automatically filled. If you put in a bid below the market, you are "betting" the price of the stock will drop to the level of your bid.