My trading account in First Metro has been approved! I can start trading as soon as I fund my account. It requires a minimum of P25,000 to start a First Metro account. If you want to know if investing in stocks is for you, then read on. But before anything else, be sure you're ready to start investing in any kind; you may want to read the "
before getting started" entry if you haven't done so.
In my
previous post, I talked about Mutual Funds where your money belongs to a bigger collection of fund managed by an expert. Now, if for some reason you feel like you can beat the best fund manager out there, AND you have the TIME to do it then this is for you. You really need to have time to do this, and preferably a reliable internet connection during trading hours (more on this later). It is strongly suggested that you attend seminars before you jump into trading stocks. As for me, I'll take my chances and jump into it right away. Experience is the best teacher anyway; I want to experience it first-hand. I'll also seek guidance from my finance mentor.
Only put money that you are willing to lose, especially when you're just starting (like me). You need to be financially and emotionally prepared to lose big or in worst case lose it all, and I mean from P25,000 to P0. It is said that trading stocks is like gambling, but it is only gambling to people who don't do research or consume knowledge. As always, you can mitigate risks when you equip yourself with knowledge. On the bright side, the risk is high because the potential to gain is also high.
Let's first define what is a stock. From Investopedia, a stock is a type of security that signifies ownership in a corporation and represents a claim on part of the corporation's assets and earnings. So in a basic sense, you're buying a part of the company and you become "part owner" of that company. "Part owner" is in quotes because it takes a lot of money to have a major role in a company that you bought stocks from.
