Mint.com has put together a pretty good graphic that will help you determine which stock broker is right for you.

Understanding a Quote

Placing a Stock Order

Paper trading has no impact on the actual market, so users can continually execute trades and practice strategies without having to worry about losing their own money.

It is increasingly getting popular for stock brokers to offer some sort of paper trading feature within their services. Discount broker like Zecco offers paper trading for both stocks and forex.

Wall Street Survivor is a popular free paper trading platform that allows users to practice and tweak trading strategies.

The fact that the market is open 24/7 doesn’t hurt as well. If you’re like most people though, you’d prefer to have all your money consolidated into the least amount of accounts.

Below is a list of stock brokerages that also offer forex trading.

* While you pay no commissions to trade forex, your only transaction cost is the dealing spread – the difference between the bid and the ask price.

While there are a bunch of financial related apps to do things like stock research and tracking on mobile devices… being able to actually connect with your brokerage account and execute orders can prove to be a very powerful and profitable endeavor.

A list of brokerages that offer mobile trading applications.

Note: Apps can be found and downloaded through the actual phone, iTunes, or individual brokerage site.

Why would you want to mobile trade?

With mobile trading apps you can trade from work, in traffic, at the auto shop, while getting a haircut, during school, and virtually anywhere by just using your phone. Basically it makes it possible to actively trade without needing to be by an actual computer all day.

Learn more about mobile trading.

Just like any bank, the fact is that brokerages need your money more than you need them. With many brokers offering to pay most if not all of your transfer fees to switch to them, there are obviously more options for traders today and more pressure on brokerages to keep their customers satisfied.

A simple but effective technique to have your current brokerage lower you commissions is to simply call them up and ask them. Especially, in this economy, brokerages need every bit of business they can get. So if one brokerage is not ready to offer you a commission reduction, then another will.

Let your brokerage know that you are ready to take your money somewhere else because they are offering lower commissions. If you are fortunate enough, then your current brokerage will lower your commissions, and, if not, then at least you tried and you can proceed to take your money somewhere else or just stay put.

Now we must use some common sense here. If you have less than $1000 in your account and only execute a few trades a year, then odds of getting your commissions lowered are probably not likely. On the other hand, it never hurts to try.

People often overlook that fact that brokerage need your business more than you need them. By simply calling them up and voicing any problems you have, often times you may be surprised with the positive outcome.

Check out a list of online stock brokerages with naturally cheap commissions.

5 Reasons To Have More Than 1 Stock Brokerage Account

1. Better Order Fills. Whether you want to trade options, buy and sell stocks, short stocks, or whatever, there are just so many types of stocks and investment tools that only one brokerage can try to satisfy. Perhaps you want to short a particular stock, but your brokerage does not have any shares of that stock to borrow. If you had multiple accounts, your other brokerage(s) may be able to fill the order. At the same time, other brokerages might be able to get you shares at more optimal prices depending on the particular stock.

2. Ability To Execute More Trades. Be it by your brokerage or legal laws, there are restrictions that prevent traders to execute a certain amount of trades in a given time period, unless they qualify to be an active trader. Some of the guidelines usually require you to have a particular amount of money in your account and conduct a certain amount of trades regularly within a given time period. While that is all good, many of us just do not have the ability to consistently trade so many times or fund out account with that much money.

By having multiple accounts, we allow ourselves the ability to execute more trades without needing to quality to be an active trader.

3. Commissions Allocation. While some stock brokerages have flat-rates, others vary their commissions based on how many shares you are dealing with. Also one brokerage might have better stock trading commissions, but another brokerage might have better option trading commissions. By having multiple accounts we can easily utilize that particular brokerage that will limit our commissions fees for a certain trade.

4. Access To More Tools And Resources. Almost no online stock brokerage has the same type of tools and resources. One brokerage may have a powerful research platform, but another brokerage may have better commission rates. Why not research on one, and execute trades on another? Some brokerages also offer mobile trading applications to trade from anywhere.

5. Trade Foreign Market. While most traders are satisfied with trading on the U.S markets, there are occasions when they might want to trade stocks that happen to be on foreign markets. Not every brokerage allows you to trade in various markets, so by having multiple accounts you can always find a brokerage that will allow you to trade that stock.

Overall, while it may seem tedious and annoying to manage multiple stock brokerage accounts, if used correctly, the benefits can drastically outweigh the cons and even make you more money.

The truth of the matter is that opening a stock brokerage account today has become so easy and much more efficient that everything can be done without really having to leave the computer. There are a just a few papers/documents you will need.

Depending on the broker you are signing up for will determine when you need to supply certain information. Some brokers allow you to simply create a user name and password and see what all services and tools are available, however, once you are ready to add money, they will require more personal information. On the other hand, there are brokers that will require all the information upfront.

The key to remember is that signing up for a online stock brokerage is not a permanent event. Just like with any bank, you can easily take out your money, close your account, and move it somewhere else. In fact, most stock brokerages will cover most if not 100% of any transfer fees that occur when transferring to their brokerage.

*Side-note: Brokerages need your business, so make sure to let them know about your concerns or problems before closing your account. You may be able to get some sweet deals out of it.

That being said, here is what you will need to completely sign up for an online stock brokerage:

1. Copy of driver’s license and social security card. Some brokers will be satisfied by just a copy of your driver’s license however others might also require a copy of your social security card. Make sure to already have a copy of them ready, as you will need to fax it to the brokerage.

2. Bank account and routing number. Obviously we need to fund our account in order to actually start trading. While you could always perform some sort of wire transfer, most discount stock brokerages allow you to electronically fund your account directly from your bank account. This will drastically increase the setup time.

3. Knowledge of previous credit history. Because trading does have tax implications, you are required to provide your social security number. In order to make sure you are who you say you are, some brokerages may try to ask you questions about your previous credit history. For some brokers, answering correctly may allow you to not need the items listed under the first bullet; otherwise, if the brokerage is still unclear than they will require you to send them those documents.

As you can see there is really not much that you need to open an online stock brokerage account; however, it is important that you stay updated on the process, so that you can get your account up and running in no time at all.