The first thing you need to think about if you want to get into the stock market in Singapore is where and who to get as a stock broker. This is especially true if you are a maiden investor and even if you are a veteran, it is impractical to think that you can manage the actual trading of shares yourself.
Stockbrokers are not just qualified but experienced in buying and selling shares. They could help you navigate the big bad world of the stock market and come out alive and hopefully richer at the end. That being said, they can make bad decisions as well so you should be involved in the trading and make sure you are up to speed on market trends in order to make informed decisions.
So how do you choose your new best friend (yes, we are still talking about the stockbroker)? Well, the most obvious criterion is the brokerage fee you will have to pay. In this regard, it will depend on how much you have to spend and on what kind of services you will need. It is important to note that the cheapest may not be the best so look into a few more things before settling on your broker.
Another of these factors is the reputation and reliability. You need to know if you can trust this person with your hard-earned cash. The best way to find out this information is asking one of your more experienced share traders for a recommendation. You could also get information online that could steer you in the right direction or simply go for bank or large security firms brokering divisions in Singapore, which are generally reliable.
If you want to follow your investment closely, you need to get a broker that does their trading online. This not only helps you with closely monitoring your investment while learning a lot about the share market, it is also cheaper since most brokers in Singapore charge lower fees for the online trading option.
Keeping with the money, you need to know whether the broker will require you to have a minimum balance in your account or not. The minimum balance varies depending on your portfolio and the broker and it could set you back anything from $1,000 to $5,000. Depending on how much you have to spend, you may need to choose a broker with a low balance requirement or even better, none at all.
Getting a broker is inevitable so make sure you choose one that is affordable, trustworthy and skilled enough to manage your oh-so-precious investment.