How to Buy Shares?

People often choose shares as a vehicle to invest their money, with the financial goal of earning dividends or capital gains. We’ve previously covered in depth How to Buy and Sell Shares, and in this article we will simply highlight the important aspects of buying shares, especially with the upcoming public float of QR National which may interest the typical mum and dad/family investor.

First of all, you should yourself with stockbrokers which include: CommSec and E*Trade. You may want to use the Canstar Online Share Trading Comparisons, to make an informed decision as to which stock broker you will use to buy shares. Ask yourself, are you a casual investor (trade 10 times a year), active investor (8 trades a month) or a trader (with more than 40+ transactions a month?)

Once you’ve got an account with one of the stockbrokers and provided your financial banking details to them, you’ll be able to trade.

1. Choose a share to buy (Hot tips? Fundamental Analysis? Technical Analysis?
2. Calculate how many to buy (based on your money management rules
3. Input the numbers into your stockbroker’s buying platform/software – or give your broker a ring
4. Execute the trade
5. That’s it! According to Australian stockmarket rules (the T+3 rule - i.e. Transaction+ 3 days) you’ll need to pay up and have the money in your account ready to be debited by the third date.