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  • #1
  • First Post: Oct 4, 2005 1:07pm Oct 4, 2005 1:07pm
I specialize on forex. Now I want to try stocks. Can you give me broker info. Which broker offers Demo account? and who is best broker. Also Where can I get best links to learn equity markets?

thanks
kiss the trend
  • #2
  • Oct 5, 2005 8:05am Oct 5, 2005 8:05am
Quoting fx-trader777
I specialize on forex. Now I want to try stocks. Can you give me broker info. Which broker offers Demo account? and who is best broker. Also Where can I get best links to learn equity markets?

thanks
No broker offers demo accounts in stocks...To measure your performance in stocks you will have to paper trade or participate in one of the stock market games out there. I am not sure if there is still some of them for free or not.

You can also start a portfolio simulation in Yahoo and enter your transactions and leave it to track the performance.

Of course, there is no so called "The Best Broker", I wish there was. I use Ameritrade and E-Trade. E-Trade is more expensive, but they are becoming really one of the biggest firms. Ameritrade are big too, but I haven't made any transactions there for a while.

When you visit the Yahoo finance page, you will find the top brokers advertising there, so don't worry

Scottrade, TD WaterHouse, E-Trade, Ameritrade are the top four you will see.

www.investopedia.com is one of the best places on the internet which you can learn a lot about the equity markets, just keep surfing there.

Wish you all the best


Thanks,

Nader
  • #3
  • Oct 5, 2005 10:23am Oct 5, 2005 10:23am
Thank you very much.

777
kiss the trend
  • #4
  • Oct 5, 2005 12:13pm Oct 5, 2005 12:13pm
http://www.simustock.com/

This is an okay stock simulator, you can enter in any beginning balance and simulate it. The only thing I don't like is the quotes are delayed, and you still have to find your own place to get charts and the like. You also can't set the trade fees, they're hard coded at $10 a transaction. But it still gives you a basic idea.

Also mentioned above is setting up a portfolio on Yahoo, you can simulate trading with that too, and I've found it a tad more flexible. Hope that helps!
It's a one-way ticket to a madman situation.
  • #5
  • Oct 7, 2005 5:20pm Oct 7, 2005 5:20pm
Quoting fx-trader777
I specialize on forex. Now I want to try stocks. Can you give me broker info. Which broker offers Demo account? and who is best broker. Also Where can I get best links to learn equity markets?

thanks
stocks suck!! too capital intensive! if you want to branch out, check out futures or options man, there you can get the same leverage as forex.

an no, stockbrokers dont offer demo accounts. demo accounts are only found in large doses in the forex market, believe it or not...
Relax and be happy.
  • #6
  • Oct 7, 2005 8:49pm Oct 7, 2005 8:49pm
Do you want to be a day trader, swing trader, or long term trader? For daytrading, study the books by David Floyd. He has info. on
the web-site, www.tradingmarkets.com. There is a wealth of info. for all
trading styles there. For longer term investing, check out investors business daily, www.investors.com, or www.vectorvest.com.
For equity options, there are a few good gurus I like, such as Ken Trestor, whose strategy is to buy cheap options, his web-site is www.optionconnection.com. He has a great newsletter called the Put and Call Tactician. Another good options guru is Bernie Schaeffer, http://www.schaeffersresearch.com.
For brokers, I suggest Interactive Brokers. For charts, a great site is www.stockcharts.com, and www.askchart.com. For a small subscription fee, their charting package provides buy/sell indicators. For testing your technical indicators, an excellent site is www.stockfetcher.com.
If you like options, but do not have time for much analysis, try trading the options for the Q's, which is an index for the NASDAQ 100.
I used to trade stocks/options, and got out of it - too much time required to find the
best ones to trade, and the equity options do not have nearly as much leverage as forex.
I am not an expert in trading options, but if you want some more info. on how to trade them, I'll help you out as much as I can. Good luck.
  • #7
  • Oct 8, 2005 12:19pm Oct 8, 2005 12:19pm
Quoting merlin
stocks suck!! too capital intensive! if you want to branch out, check out futures or options man, there you can get the same leverage as forex.

an no, stockbrokers dont offer demo accounts. demo accounts are only found in large doses in the forex market, believe it or not...
Right on Wizard man. If you are extremely bullish or bearish on a stock, use LEAPS. LEAPS give you great leverage and a longer time frame before you lose value from time decay.
Steven
  • #8
  • Oct 8, 2005 4:42pm Oct 8, 2005 4:42pm
To some extent I disagree. Some studies show that 90% of stock options expire worthless, so actually option buyers don't make too much money. The concept of low risk high reward is not logical, and that's the case with buying options.

You might want to use LEAPS as hedges to your positions. For example, 3 years ago I was long Juniper stock at $29. I was bullish on the stock provided that everything in the economy came back and specially the technology sector. To hedge my position if things went wrong or didn't come back, I bought Long term put options 2 years forward at a strike price of $2.5. My total investment for the stock was $2900 and I bought the options for around $160, 16 puts for $10 each.

The stock dropped to $4 but turned back and went straight to $30 and never got higher than $35. I knew that it is over and it was a bad investment, so I got out.

Also using call options as a hedge against shorts is great as the risk is unlimited in case you short stocks.

Thanks,

Nader
  • #9
  • Nov 1, 2005 6:03pm Nov 1, 2005 6:03pm
If you are that keen on trading stocks and also want a demo account, why don't you consider trading CFDs through someone like CMC. This way you can also trade trade forex on the same account if you so desire. CFDs are just a leveraged instrument that is based on the underlying price of the stock and is not affected by time decay etc. Maybe worth considering. Cheers.
JAGfx
  • #10
  • Nov 1, 2005 6:10pm Nov 1, 2005 6:10pm
Quoting buff
If you are that keen on trading stocks and also want a demo account, why don't you consider trading CFDs through someone like CMC. This way you can also trade trade forex on the same account if you so desire. CFDs are just a leveraged instrument that is based on the underlying price of the stock and is not affected by time decay etc. Maybe worth considering. Cheers.
Do CFD's have a limited risk like options?

Silver
In trading you are only as smart as your dumbest mistake. - Ralph Vince
  • #11
  • Nov 2, 2005 2:32am Nov 2, 2005 2:32am
CFDs are just a leveraged instrument to trade stocks, very similar to a trading forex. With forex, if you purchase 1 lot, you only have to deposit a small amount to control $100,000 worth of currency.

An example of using a CFD - if you wanted to buy $10,000 worth of Microsoft stock, instead of coming up with the full $10,000, depending on which broker you were using, you may only need to deposit 5% ($500). So with that $500, you control $10,000 worth of stock.

Same as in Forex, if the price goes for you or against you, depends on how much you receive when you close out the trade. Like Forex trading, your broker will have certain rules in place with regards to margin calls, margin required etc. But these are things you can check out for yourself. I only used CMC as an example as I am familiar with their platform.

Also an advantage of CFDs is the ability to go short just as easy as it is to go long with stocks. I only trade stocks in my retirement fund and the rules won't allow me to borrow hence I cannot trade leveraged instruments, which is a shame as CFDs would be ideal.

So in a nutshell, they are different to Options (no where near as complicated - for me anyway!) and I guess the overall risk is controlled by the broker and their rules. I hope this all makes some sense and helps you out a bit. Cheers.
JAGfx
  • #12
  • Nov 2, 2005 3:30am Nov 2, 2005 3:30am
Thanks...
The way I uderstand it is that being valued to the underlying stock, just like the stock can gap in an unlimited way, jumping your stops, so will the value of the CFD. Hence an unlimited downside. There are brokers who will insure you stop being gapped for a doubling in commision/spread, hence other cost issues come into play. With options, (which I admit I don't understand beyond the basics) your downside is limited by what you paid for your options. i.e. If the price gaps against you, at worst, the options are worthless.

Silver
In trading you are only as smart as your dumbest mistake. - Ralph Vince
  • #13
  • Nov 18, 2005 11:11pm Nov 18, 2005 11:11pm
Hi

Has anyone used TD WATERHOUSE if so what do you thing about them??




Thanks
  • #14
  • Jan 8, 2006 6:04am Jan 8, 2006 6:04am
Hello...
Do you know this broker anybody www.northfinance.com ? This broker trade with CFD,forex,comodities..Please contact me..
Thanks
  • #15
  • Jan 8, 2006 12:30pm Jan 8, 2006 12:30pm
Quoting narafa
To some extent I disagree. Some studies show that 90% of stock options expire worthless, so actually option buyers don't make too much money.
agreed. if im bullish on a stock, i will usually sell puts instead of buying calls. its all about which side of theta you are on. i like to have theta on my side, and to do that you need to be selling options.

in some instances, if i think the stock will explode in a certain direction, i will buy calls or puts. but i wont hold them for very long. buying options is like buying a car, its always depreciating, so you dont want to hold them too long or they will generally go to zero.
Relax and be happy.
  • #16
  • Jan 8, 2006 12:31pm Jan 8, 2006 12:31pm
hey 777, have you found a broker yet? if not, try interactivebrokers.com. they are CLEARLY the best stock broker imo.
Relax and be happy.
  • #17
  • Jan 9, 2006 7:40am Jan 9, 2006 7:40am
Quoting merlin
in some instances, if i think the stock will explode in a certain direction, i will buy calls or puts. but i wont hold them for very long. buying options is like buying a car, its always depreciating, so you dont want to hold them too long or they will generally go to zero.
In options, the Buy and Hold strategy usually turns into a Buy and Lose strategy....Unless you are using complex straddles and other butterfly strategies, your chances are slim, and those strategies require a lot of capital because the transaction costs are usually high, you need to be trading at least 10 contracts from each side...

Merlin, have you ever tried to sell Google puts against buying the Nasdaq QQQQ puts for the same month??? Could really be a good hedge lowering the risk involved if Google stock went down too much, as it will weight on the index for sure....


Thanks,

Nader
  • #18
  • Mar 16, 2006 2:23am Mar 16, 2006 2:23am
For how long have you traded with Interactive brokers? Do you think they are better than Ameritrade?
  • #19
  • Mar 16, 2006 6:22am Mar 16, 2006 6:22am
Quoting Vitaka
For how long have you traded with Interactive brokers? Do you think they are better than Ameritrade?
If this question is aimed at me, then you should know that I am just opening my account with Interactive Brokers...Ameritrade are by far the best I know...Maybe I will change my opinion after I use IB, but till now, I stick to my opinion...


Thanks,

Nader
  • #20
  • Mar 16, 2006 6:57am Mar 16, 2006 6:57am
Quoting narafa
If this question is aimed at me, then you should know that I am just opening my account with Interactive Brokers...Ameritrade are by far the best I know...Maybe I will change my opinion after I use IB, but till now, I stick to my opinion...

Thanks,

Nader
Please keep us updated friend..

Regards,
East
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