{"id":3507,"date":"2013-02-25T00:01:28","date_gmt":"2013-02-24T16:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.imoney.my\/blog\/?p=3507"},"modified":"2024-03-12T17:45:41","modified_gmt":"2024-03-12T09:45:41","slug":"choosing-stock-broker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.imoney.my\/articles\/choosing-stock-broker","title":{"rendered":"Things You Ought to Consider When Choosing Your First Stock Broker"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s really no way around it.\u00a0 If you wish to invest in shares, you\u2019re going to need a stock broker who\u2019ll carry out the actual buying and selling of shares on your behalf.<\/p>\n

However, choosing a broker isn\u2019t as simple as picking the one that charges the lowest fee (though it is probably the first thing you should think about).\u00a0 In this article, iMoney shows you some of the factors you should consider when you are enlisting a stock broker for the very first time.<\/p>\n

<\/span>1) Stock brokerage fee<\/span><\/h2>\n

Stock brokers charge you a fee whenever you buy or sell shares.\u00a0 For new investors with limited funds, every sen counts and therefore, it is probably best for you to consider brokers with lower fee, instead of the ones that charge a premium for services you may not use.
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Example<\/div>
The difference between a broker who charges you 0.1% and a broker who charges you 0.6% is RM250<\/strong> if you buy or sell RM50,000 worth of shares!<\/div><\/div>
\nTo find out which broker has the lowest fee, check out iMoney\u2019s share trading account comparison table<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/span>2) Cash upfront or collateralised accounts<\/span><\/h2>\n

When opening a new share trading account, you broker may offer you the option of a Cash Upfront account, a Collateralised account, or both. For Cash Upfront, the brokerage fee is lower, but your trading is usually limited to the amount you\u2019ve deposited into your trust account (i.e. if you have RM100 in your trust account, you can trade RM100 worth of shares). For Collateralised, your brokerage fee is higher but your trading limit is usually multiple times of the amount you\u2019ve deposited or pledged to your trust account.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the type of investor you are, make sure you choose a broker that offers you the account that fits your investment strategy.<\/p>\n

<\/span>3) Minimum<\/span><\/h2>\n

Some stock brokers insist that you deposit and hold a minimum balance on your trust account in order to trade shares. This may range from as low as RM1,000, to as high as RM10,000 or more. If you have limited funds for investment purposes, your best bet is to go with the one with the lowest minimum, or one with no minimum requirement at all.<\/p>\n

<\/span>4) Online trading platform<\/span><\/h2>\n

Whilst there are some investors who continue to work closely with a stock broking agent or remisier for share trading purposes; many new-generation investors are now switching over to online trading platform in order to personally oversee and execute their trading activities. If you fall under the second category, it wouldn\u2019t hurt to browse through online forums and see what people are saying about the online trading platform of your broker of choice. Remember: frequent outages are not a good thing when your money is involved!<\/p>\n

<\/span>5) Withdrawal of money<\/span><\/h2>\n

Think about how you want to withdraw your money from your share trading account (which you will do, sooner or later). For a bank brokering unit, it may involve making a simple phone call or tapping on a button online to have the money transferred to a linked savings or current account. For a securities firm, the process may be somewhat longer as it involves the drafting, banking-in and clearance of cheques into your bank account. Though you\u2019ll eventually get your money either way, the speed of the withdrawal differs and may be a big deal to certain investors.<\/p>\n

<\/span>6) Reliability and reputation of stock broker<\/span><\/h2>\n

When you are going to trust a company with a huge amount of money, you should always go out of your way to find out how reliable it is. Bank brokering units are generally trustworthy as they are tied to the banks themselves, but that is not to say that securities companies, especially the big ones, aren\u2019t dependable too. A good approach is probably to ask a more established share trader about the broker he\u2019s using. But if you don\u2019t have that kind of network, remember the Internet is your friend.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Need more information about share trading in Malaysia? Find out how you can start trading shares in 4 simple steps<\/a>!<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

<\/span>Ready to start investing in shares? Check out iMoney\u2019s share trading account comparison table<\/a> and discover which stock broker suits you best.<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

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