| Just a couple of decades ago buying and selling | | | | to limited competition and the fact that you got live |
| stocks was not something that could be completed | | | | trading assistance. |
| with the push of a button, like we commonly do | | | | Thankfully, things are much different today. Now that |
| today by using online brokerage accounts. To buy or | | | | the internet is common in most people's homes, |
| sell a stock you had to first do a great deal of | | | | buying and selling stocks is very easy to do. |
| market research. This would involve keeping a close | | | | Establishing an online trading account can be done in a |
| eye on the evening news for any newsworthy event | | | | matter of minutes and can even be funded |
| that could move a stock. It also meant investing in a | | | | electronically the same day. Assistance is available, if |
| daily subscription to the Wall Street Journal. | | | | you want it, although you never have to talk to |
| To purchase your first stock you had to first open a | | | | anyone if you don't want to. |
| brokerage account. This involved mailing in the | | | | Making an actual stock trade is now super-easy as |
| appropriate paperwork with a certified check to fund | | | | well. You just log into your trading account and place |
| your trading account. This could take weeks to | | | | the order. It's as simple as that. In most cases the |
| establish, causing you to lose out on a few good | | | | order is filled nearly instantly. With the internet, |
| trades while you wait. Once your account was finally | | | | conducting market research is no longer the hassle it |
| opened, to place a buy or sell order, you would have | | | | used to be. You can use powerful stock analysis |
| to actually call your broker on the phone to place the | | | | software to easily pick out the stocks that are ready |
| order. And to make matters worse, you were | | | | to make a major move. |
| charged an outrageous fee for each transaction due | | | | |