For someone new to the world of investing choice of a stock broker seems to be a difficult task. Till the point you avail the services of a broker you cannot trade. Though you can go on to use someone else’s account to start off with trading. At a personal level when I did open my first brokerage account there was no one to even guide me. Then you need to go through a series of websites in order to figure out which is the type of stock broker you need to choose.
You need to take stock of the fact that the best stock broker in India is not someone who will be with you for the rest of your life. You are in a position to switch brokers at any point of time and all this boils down to your own levels of interest. But a general suggestion would be to start off with a decent broker and make a switch over to someone is a different matter. But take note of the fact that it is going to cost you some bucks when you are planning to make a move from one broker to another.
The pointers to keep in mind when you are choosing a stock broker
Before you go on to choose a stock broker there are certain points you need to keep in mind.
Research
You need to conduct your own research. It is better to educate yourself about the views of experienced people, but do not follow them blindly. It is always better to educate yourself by paying a visit to the website of the stock broker as you can gain an idea about the various types of fees on offer.
The reputation along with the background of the broker
It is advisable to check out the background or even the reputation of the brokers. Check out their views or complaints with the help of reviews that are obtained by the existing clients. In case if you plan to rely on the use of a mobile platform, check out their views on this platform as well.
Brokerage along with other charges
A stock broker is a registered individual in a stock market who is authorized to buy and sell shares on your behalf. In most cases they are going to charge a rate of commission on the kind of services that they provide.
There are a couple of brokers in this regard, the full time brokers along with the discount brokers. The former goes on to provide an entire gamut of services to the clients, whereas in case of the latter they just provide you with a platform for you to conduct transactions. Each of them does have its own set of pros along with cons.
Customer service
In the event of you being a new investor you would need to be aware about customer service levels. In fact you are going to need them at various levels. Do check out the customer service provided by the broker.