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There are many online broker firms today that allow their users to personally conduct their own trading ventures for a small fee. This appeals to many individuals because it gives them a sense of control over their own portfolios. However, the process for placing a trade through an online brokerage is not as simple as clicking a button or an icon.

With the company Scottrade there are three different steps to perform for a basic stock or ETF trade. First there is the market trade, where the security is traded at the current price in the market. To accomplish this type of transaction the user clicks on the trade button found on the ‘Quick Quotes’ page. Next, select whether the action is to buy or sell and the total number of shares for the transaction. Follow this with the stock symbol of the company or the ETF symbol. Now the trader should click on the ‘Type Order’ button and select ‘Market.’ After the type of order has been selected, duration for the 'time in force' needs to be chosen. Market orders are only valid for the trading day that they are placed; therefore the time in force needs to reflect this stipulation. At this point, the trader will be asked to review the order. If everything is how it should be, then the user should place the trade.

Investment Frontiers Symposia (Photo credit: apec2011ceosummit)

If you have already paid off all of your debt in credit cards and have in mind financial goals like buying a home, paying college tuition, or retirement savings, then you should do your homework prior to making any investment decisions.  You should have the answers to the following questions:

• How much risk for tolerance do you have?
• What kinds of investments are you looking at: mutual funds, bonds, stocks?
• Are you interested in purchasing an annuity or an IRA?
• Do they offer a 401K plan at your job?