Choosing the right Stock Broker in Stock Markets

What are the stock markets?

A stock market is a place or a platform where many people come together to do business activities. What it means is that various buying and selling activities take place in these kinds of markets & transactions. The shares of publicly held companies are listed in the stock markets. These types of financial activities happen through OTC. OTC is also known as Over the Counter and these counters function through traditional formal exchanges. These exchanges operate under a predefined set of instructions.

There are multiple regions in a country where the transactions of stock and other trading values take place and they are known as Stock trading Venues. To understand this better, it can also be said as a marketplace where many buyers and sellers meet and transact with each other. Since the number of participants in these markets is enormous, therefore an individual has assured fair price for the stocks and shares in which they are dealing. The stock market acts as two mediums namely, primary and secondary markets which are operated in a predefined rule stated by the concerned regulators.

 In primary markets, the stock market platform allows a various range of companies to issue, and sell their shares for the 1st time to the ordinary people. This happens through a simplified process known as IPO or Initial Public Offerings. The concerned companies divide itself into multiple numbers of shares and then sell a part of those shares through IPO. This process also helps the companies to raise investments from investors. Each share is sold at a special rate to the public. After the shares are issued for the first time through the process of IPO, the stock exchange facilitates the regular selling and buying of those listed shares through the trading platform known as the Secondary market. This is how stock markets function and trading is done.

What is a Stock Broker?

A stockbroker is a person who executes the process of buying and selling orders for stock on behalf of the client. They are professional in their work and are registered representatives. They are also known as Investment Advisor. The stockbrokers receive a commission for their trading services and they are usually associated with some brokerage firms. They handle all the transactions for retails and the institutional customers in the same manner. However, the commissions vary depending on where they are employed.

To have the ability to buy & sell shares and securities of various companies, the broker must have access to the significant stock exchanges in the country. Trading on these kinds of exchanges requires exclusive memberships or the broker should belong to an authentic member firm. In India, all the share brokers present in the country are governed and controlled by SEBI, also known as Securities and Exchange Boards of India. These fall under the SEBI act 1992. All the stock and share brokers are required to register themselves with the Securities and Exchange Board of India to trade in the stock exchanges. The National Stock Exchange of India and The Bombay Stock Exchange are the two popular stock exchanges in the country which offer certification courses to the brokers.

Choosing the right Stock Broker in India:

The selection of a stockbroker is one of the crucial steps that one takes while entering the stock market and stock business. This becomes a very crucial step, especially for beginners who are looking to enter the stock markets in India. If the decisions are made and done correctly, then trading with the shares or investing in them would provide the highest returns. Choosing a specific stockbroker is far more complicated than it sounds. At this crucial stage, a wrong decision or judgment would lead to a lot of loss of money as well as time. Therefore to make sure that no mistakes are made, and smart decisions are taken. There are some prominent factors that one should consider before choosing a stockbroker.

Let us dig deep into some various kinds of those factors & aspects to choose the right stock broker for trading and investments:

• Types of brokers available in the market:

This is one of the most crucial criteria while selecting a broker in India. There are two types of them:

• Full-service brokers: These types of brokers were unidirectional until 2010. The Full-service brokers provided diverse services to the clients and they use to charge a particular commission percentage in each trade they made. This means that the higher the transaction value more would be the commission charges.
• Discount brokers: After 2010, a new concept of broking was introduced in the Indian markets. These brokers are always online in nature and they don't provide any kind of trading experience or guidance to their clients. Also, they are not involved with any kinds of stock advisory services & stuff.
• Commission or Brokerage Charges:

Various kinds of brokers charge their clients the brokerage fees differently. The Full-service brokers depend on the commission charges that are earned based on the transaction value, whereas the Discount brokers charge a flat brokerage fee irrespective of the trading amount. Nowadays, the brokers also rely on monthly or yearly brokerage charges and provide unlimited trading in a particular period. Brokerage charges are always negotiable and therefore the clients should always negotiate the fees or commission before confirming the particular stockbroker.

• Choosing the trading platform:

There are many types of people in the country and different types of people invest or trade in different types of trading platforms. For online stock trading, the trading platform or particular software is provided by the broker. It is essential to keep in mind about the trading platform while choosing the brokers because the platform must be convenient, stable and user-friendly as well. The platform should also contain all the major & essential features like trading analysis and stock price charts etc. Price alerts and timely notifications are essential as well. It is always recommended to try out the demo platform before choosing one.

• Customer Services & Support:

A stockbroker with excellent customer service will undoubtedly be an added advantage over other criteria. This is because people tend to hire those brokers who are quick in responding to customer queries. Very bad customer support would give poor satisfaction to the clients and therefore choosing the right broker with proper services is an essential thing in the trading business. Customer service can either be through calls, chats or emails.

• Geographical presence:

This is also an essential criterion because this tells about the broker's franchise or its subnetwork. The discussions involve getting the gist of the broker's portfolio and understanding the broker’s behavior and performance in the market. However, this criterion is not valid in the case of Discount Brokers. This is one of the important sell points of Full-service Brokers. They tend to build a massive network through sub-broker partnerships and other franchises in many areas of the country. 

• Technology expertise:

A stockbroker who is an expert in using all sorts of features and technology will be able to provide better services to the clients or customers. A stockbroker having an in house expert team with evolving knowledge of technology & platform features will be able to provide better services and support. The stock trading technologies are usually critical and complex and a lot of time is required to understand them, but with the help of the right stockbroker, one can get a reliable and stable trading platform for doing all kinds of investments and trading stuff.

• Research and Reports:

Many stockbrokers offer research services to their clients and recommend them to the trending market information and trading opportunities to the customers. These types of brokers are also involved in publishing various reports on the market economy and trends and IPO's. They also maintain a dedicated research team for their client’s convenience.

Conclusion:

So now, it is very clear why proper planning is required before stock investment and why it is important to choose the right stockbroker. To invest smartly and precisely, the best stock brokers must be selected. Also choosing the best stock broker helps in learning various things about the stock market and getting the best returns. Ultimately, the goal of the client would be to invest easily and conveniently in the market backed by the stockbroker. The stockbroker must also take an active interest in educating the client and creating awareness as there are multiple rules in a market and the regulations also dynamic that they keep on changing from time to time. While being involved in this field required a lot of knowledge, but taking the best decisions will always ensure that the client's hard-earned money gets invested and provides good returns in a short duration and helps in achieving investment and trading goals.