Stock trading and a brokerage 

Stock trading is the process of buying and selling shares of companies. The companies will issue a fixed number of shares for the public to raise capital. The investors are those who put their real money and buy these shares. There are many ways to do share trading like using a brokerage firm or through electronic platforms. When investors buy the initial new shares of a company, the amount will go to the institution to meet the fund requirements for processes like the expansion of the company or debt repayment, etc. After that, the investors can buy and sell the shares in the market for profit. These will be the trading processes happening between two individual investors. Brokerage firms will act as a middleman in the process. Since it will be difficult for an individual investor to deal with a stock exchange, the brokerages will help to fill the gap. With a brokerage account, you can research for the profitable stock prices and start buying or selling. The brokerage will do all the other processes for you with a small charge. If you want to open a securities account, you can compare the brokerage firms out there in the market and choose the one you feel comfortable with. In this article, let us discuss the steps to open a securities account or a brokerage account in brief.

Steps to open a securities account

Choose the type of account

There will be several types of accounts available in the brokerage arena. You should look for your requirements and offerings of these accounts to select the suitable one. The various types of securities accounts are as below.

• Cash account – All the trading transactions should be settled with real cash at the time of trading. The investor should deposit cash every time he needs to buy a security.
• Financing account – The investors can borrow money from the brokerage to buy more stocks that are out of their capacity and repay them later. It is also known as margin accounts. However, the losses may also be high in these accounts. 
• Futures account – The brokerage will provide various futures products that the investor can leverage to manage their investment portfolio.  
• IRA account – If you do not need the profits of your investment now and will need it during your retirement, you can choose an IRA account. You should be at least 59 years of age to withdraw money.

Look for offers and discounts.

After selecting the type of account you need to open, you can look out for the brokerages for their incentives and offers. Some brokerages will have no commission services that do not require a fee for every transaction. There will be various discounts and offers to depend on the type of brokerage. 

Application

Once after selecting a brokerage, you should fill out an application form. Once it is over, your securities account is open, and you can deposit money to start trading.