how to buy stock without a broker
if the global financial crisis has
taught us anything
it's that stockbrokers aren't quite the
demigods they'd like to think they are
the good news is that if you're willing
to put in extra work
you can foregoing the investment advice
of a broker and build a portfolio of
your own
using a broker only to execute trades
investing through direct stock purchase
plans dsps
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understand the benefits dsps allow you
to take advantage of dollar cost
averaging dca
which is the strategy of investing with
a fixed dollar amount each month
regardless of the stock price
some months the stock price will be high
and others it will be low
however over time the average stock
price will go down
this reduces the risk of investing a
large amount of money at the wrong time
you are using the same strategy if you
are investing in a 401k or a 403 v
with dca the dollar amount remains the
same each month but the number of shares
purchased varies because of fluctuations
in the price
this strategy allows investors to ignore
the short-term market and invest in
companies over the long term
it works because the market historically
has shown strong returns over the long
term with dca the dollar amount remains
the same each month but the number of
shares purchased varies because of
fluctuations in the price
this strategy allows investors to ignore
the short-term market and invest in
companies over the long term
it works because the market historically
has shown strong returns over the long
term
understand the drawbacks although dspps
are a wise investment for many beginning
investors or those with a small amount
to invest you should also be aware of
their shortcomings
your investments may be inadequately
diversified also
the fees can become expensive in
addition the record keeping is daunting
finally you have no choice over the
purchase date of your stocks
lack of diversity is a drawback of dsp
fees unless you invest in a number of
different companies across a variety of
industries your investments will not
have adequate diversity
the fees although low can add up over
time many companies charge initial setup
fees purchase transaction fees
sales fees and more investors must keep
track of the cost of stock purchases in
order to calculate capital gains taxes
due
those with multiple dsps over many years
have to keep track of a multitude of
transactions for each year
you have no control over the trading
date and price some stock purchases may
take weeks
lack of diversity is a drawback of dsps
unless you invest in a number of
different companies across a variety of
industries your investments will not
have adequate diversity the fees
although low can add up over time
many companies charge initial setup fees
purchase transaction fees
sales fees and more investors must keep
track of the cost of stock purchases in
order to calculate capital gains taxes
due
those with multiple dspps over many
years have to keep track of a multitude
of transactions for each year you have
no control over the trading date and
price
some stock purchases may take weeks
know how dsp fees work if you have a
small amount of money to invest
and you don't want the returns to be
wiped away by expensive brokerage fees
then consider a dsp
dsps allow you to purchase shares of
stock directly from a company with the
help of a transfer agent
you don't need a broker to be the
middleman dspps are also known as no
load stocks
dspps are generally available from large
well-established companies
you can agree to automatic monthly
withdrawals from your checking or
savings account to purchase more stocks
a transfer agent is a third party that
represents the company
it may be a bank a trust company or a
similar organization
corporations hire transfer agents to
maintain records of stock transactions
and investors account balances to cancel
and issue certificates and to deal with
any problems
such as lost or stolen certificates some
companies choose to act as their own
transfer agent but most use a third
party
dspps are generally available from large
well-established companies you can agree
to automatic monthly withdrawals from
your checking or savings account to
purchase more stocks a transfer agent is
a third party that represents the
company
it may be a bank a trust company or a
similar organization
corporations hire transfer agents to
maintain records of stock transactions
and investors account balances
to cancel and issue certificates and to
deal with any problems such as lost or
stolen certificates
some companies choose to act as their
own transfer agent but most use a third
party
identify a company with which to invest
large
publicly traded corporations often have
dspp programs
consult informative websites such as
computer share
these websites have databases of
thousands of companies that can be
searched by industry and location
they also provide information about
investment strategies
do a quick search to get a complete
alphabetical list of companies that
offer
dsps or do an advanced search to filter
companies by industry or initial
investment amount see the minimum share
purchase and the minimum purchase dollar
amount
click on the plan summary link to view
more information such as plan fees and
features
register and invest with a company go to
the investors page of the company's
website
look through the faqs to find a link to
information about dsps
this link will take you to the company's
transfer agent on the transfer company's
website find information about the dspp
for the company in which you are
interested
this will tell you about any associated
fees the minimum required to open the
account and the minimum monthly
investment supply information such as
your name address
social security number bank account
information and monthly withdrawal
amount
indicate whether you want the dividends
to be sent to you monthly or reinvested
into additional stock
you don't have to set up a monthly
withdrawal to purchase additional stocks
it is possible to make a single one-time
investment of a fixed number of shares
reinvesting your dividends to purchase
additional stock is known as a dividend
reinvestment plan
on the transfer company's website find
information about the dspp for the
company in which you are interested
this will tell you about any associated
fees the minimum required to open the
account and the minimum monthly
investment
supply information such as your name
address social security number
bank account information and monthly
withdrawal amount indicate whether you
want the dividends to be sent to you
monthly or reinvested into additional
stock you don't have to set up a monthly
withdrawal to purchase additional stocks
it is possible to make a single one-time
investment of a fixed number of shares
reinvesting your dividends to purchase
additional stock is known as a dividend
reinvestment plan