Stock Markets Exposed

investing question?

i'm thinking about investing online in the stock market, i'm thinking about investing in say stock with company xyz. with so many online brokerage firms available, and they only offer stock in certain company's, how do i know if a particular brokerage offers xyz stock, before i go with a certain broker?

Public Comments

1. You can ask them if they carry that stock. Most of the larger brokerage firms carry them all.
2. You call the broker and ask them.
3. Stock in publically traded companies is traded in the markets, so the first question is to make sure you are talking about a public company. Next, is it listed and traded on the US markets, such as NASDAQ, NYSE, or AMEX? You can check that easily by running a search and finding its ticker on Yahoo! Finance. If not, it might be an OTC (over-the-counter) or Pink Sheet issue, which aside from being much riskier to trade and harder to find a market for, will limit the brokerage that will make the trade for you. It might also be a Canadian listing, or somewhere else overseas, which the search will tell you. You can open Canadian and overseas accounts, (London, Shanghai, etc) but you are opening yourself to a whole suite of tax issues. If the company you are talking about is listed on the US markets, then any online broker will do the trade for you after you open an account. When comparing which firm to join, consider how much cash is required to open the account, whether or not you like to be able to walk into an office or online is fine, and what the trade fees are. Unless there is some very special reason, there is no need for the more expensive traditional brokers. Check Etrade, TDAmeritrade, Schwab, etc. There are plenty of comparisons of online brokerages in the learning section of Yahoo! Finance. You might also consider the lowest- cost and maintenance route with dividend investment plans, such as www.ShareBuilder.com That is a very effective solution for the cost conscious, hands-off type of investor. Best of luck!
4. Not sure what you are really trying to ask but you will be able to trade just about any typical stock with any of the most popular mainstream online brokers. Zecco Scottrade TDAmertrade E*Trade Just make sure you know what you are doing before jumping into the stock market. There is a lot more to it then just buying xyz stock.
5. If you are talking about a publicly trade company, I would say virtually all brokerages of the country that the stock is listed in, can trade that stock for you. If you are talking about a brokerage outside the listed country, that is a different story. Then you should be checking with the brokerage first.