What is Share in finance a share is a unit of account for various financial instruments including stocks, mutual funds, limited

partnerships, and REIT's. In British English, the usage of the word share alone to refer solely to stocks is so common that it almost replaces the word stock itself. In simple Words, a share or stock is a document issued y a company, which entitles its holder to e one of the owners of the company. ! share is issued y a company or can e purchased from the stock market. By owning a share you can earn a portion and selling shares you get capital gain. "o, your return is the dividend plus the capital gain. #owever, you also run a risk of making a capital loss if you have sold the share at a price elow your uying price. ! company's stock price reflects what investors think a out the stock, not necessarily what the company is $worth.$ %or e&ample, companies that are growing 'uickly often trade at a higher price than the company might currently e $worth.$ "tock prices are also affected y all forms of company and market news. (u licly traded companies are re'uired to report 'uarterly on their financial status and earnings. )arket forces and general investor opinions can also affect share price. *uick %acts on "tocks and "hares

+wning a stock or a share means you are a partial owner of the company, and you get voting rights in certain company issues +ver the long run, stocks have historically averaged a out ,-. annual returns #owever, stocks offer no guarantee of any returns and can lose value, even in the long run Investments in stocks can generate returns through dividends, even if the price

#ow does one trade in shares / Every transaction in the stock e&change is carried out through licensed mem ers called rokers.To trade in shares, you have to approach a roker #owever, since most stock e&change rokers deal in very high volumes, they generally do not entertain small investors. These rokers have a network of su 0 rokers who provide them with orders.

The general investors should identify a sub-broker for regular trading in shares and palce his order for purchase and sale through the su 0 roker. The sub/broker will transmit the order to his broker who will then execute it . What is Demat A/c 1emat !ccount 1efinition 1emat refers to a dematerialised account. Though the company is under o ligation to offer the securities in oth physical anddemat mode, you have the choice to receive the securities in either mode. If you wish to have securities in demat mode, you need to indicate the name of the depository and also of the depository participant with whom you have depository account in your application. It is, however desira le that you hold securities in demat form as physical securities carry the risk of eing fake, forged or stolen. 2ust as you have to open an account with a ank if you want to save your money, make che'ue payments etc, 3owadays, you need to open a demat account if you want to uy or sell stocks. HOW O O!"# A D"$A A%%O&# ' +pening an individual 1emat account is a two0step process4 5ou approach a 1( and fill up the 1emat account0opening ooklet. The We sites of the 3"16 and the 71"6 list the approved 1(s. 5ou will then receive an account num er and a 1( I1 num er for the account. *uote oth the num ers in all future correspondence with your 1(s. "o it is 8ust like a ank account where actual money is replaced y shares. 5ou have to approach the 1(s 9remem er, they are like ank ranches:, to open yourdemat account. 6et's say your portfolio of shares looks like this4 ,;- of Infosys, ;- of Wipro, <-- of #66 and ,-- of !77. !ll these will show in your demat account. "o you don't have to possess any physical certificates showing that you own these shares. They are all held electronically in your account. !s you uy and sell the shares, they are

ad8usted in your account. 2ust like a ank pass ook or statement, the 1( will provide you with periodic statements of holdings and transactions. Is a demat account a must/ 3owadays, practically all trades have to e settled in dematerialised form. !lthough the market regulator, the "ecurities and E&change Board of India 9"EBI:, has allowed trades of upto ;-- shares to e settled in physical form, no ody wants physical shares any more. "o a demat account is a must for trading and investing. )ost anks are also 1( participants, as are many rokers. 5ou can choose your very own 1(. To get a list, visit the 3"16 and 71"6 we sites and see who the registered 1(s are. ! roker is separate from a 1(. ! roker is a mem er of the stock e&change, who uys and sells shares on his ehalf and on ehalf of his clients. ! 1( will 8ust give you an account to hold those shares. 5ou do not have to take the same 1( that your roker takes. 5ou can choose your own. Online Share Stock rading +nline "tock Trading is a recent way of uying and selling stocks. 3ow you can uy and sell any stock over the Internet for a low price and you don=t need to call up a roker. 5ou can uy any stock and sell any stock and it doesn=t take much to get started. !ll you need is a rokerage account. ! roker that I use is "cottrade http4>>www.scottrade.com> and you can start an account with them for ?;-and their commissions are only ?@, so they are not e&pensive at all. +nce you have setup a rokerage account you then need to choose an investment method and then research different companies and then uy stock in the ones that you feel will go up ecause they are good sound companies. "o as you can see there are several enefits to online stock trading ut let=s recap.

With online stock trading all you need is ?;-- to open a rokerage account, the rokerage commissions are low at "cottrade they=re only ?@ and you can uy and sell your stocks from your home computer anytime that the stock market is open. Well now that you know that you can do online stock trading with a minimal investment you should get started today and then start learning a out the stock market and choose the stocks you want to invest in. Different y(es of )nvestment These days, you can't retire without using the returns from investments. 5ou can't count on your social security checks to cover your e&penses when you retire. It's arely enough for people who are receiving it now to have food, shelter and utilities. That doesn't account for any care you may need or in the even that you need to take advantage of such funds much earlier inlife. It is important to have your own financial plan. There are many kinds of investments you can make that will make your life much easier down the road. The following are rief descriptions for eginning investors to familiariAe themselves with different kinds of investment B-,C (lans 0 The easiest and most popular kind of investment is a B-,C plan. This is due to the fact that most 8o s offer this savings program where the money can e automatically deducted from your payroll check and you never realiAe it is missing. *ife )nsurance 6ife Insurance policies are another kind of investment that is fairly popular. It is a way to ensure income for your family when you die. It allows you a sense of security and provides a valua le ta& deduction. Stocks "tocks are a uni'ue kind of investment ecause they allow you to take partial ownership in a company. Because of this, the returns are potentially igger and they have a history of eing a wise way to invest your money. +onds ! ond is asically a promise note from the government or a private company. 5ou agree to give them a set amount of money as a loan and they keep it for a set num er of years with a predetermined amount of interest.

This is typically a safe et and one that is a good investment for a first time investor ecause there is little risk of losing your money. $utual ,unds )utual funds are a kind of investment that are ased on the gains and losses of a shareholder. Basically one person manages the money of several or many investors and invests in a list of various stocks to lessen the effect of any losses that may occur. $oney $arket ,unds ! good short0term investment is a )oney )arket %und. With this kind of investment you can earn interest as an independent shareholder. Annuities If you are interested in ta&0deferred income, then annuities may e the right kind of investment for you. This is an agreement etween you and the insurer. It works to produce income for you and protect your earning potential. Brokered 7ertificates of 1eposit 971s: 71s are a kind of investment where you deposit money for a set amount of time. The good thing a out 71s is that you can take the money out at any time without paying a penalty fee. We all know life isn't predicta le, so this is a nice feature to have in your option. -eal "state Real Estate is a tangi le kind of investment. It includes your land and anything permanently attached to your piece of property. This may include your home, rental properties, your company or empty pieces of land. Real estate is typically a smart and can make you a lot of money over time Saving vs )nvesting Traditionally, saving has een viewed as 'uite different from investing. In most savings alternatives, the initial amount of capital or cash remains constant, earning guaranteed rates of interest. The capital value of investments can go up or down. Returns are not guaranteed. #owever, creation of money market funds and deregulation of the anking industry have resulted in a variety of savings options that earn varia le rates of return.

"avings provide funds for emergencies and for making specific purchases in the relatively near future 9generally within two years:. The primary goal is to store funds and keep them safe. This is why savings are generally placed in interest0 earing accounts that are safe 9such as those insured or guaranteed y the federal government: and li'uid 9those in the form of cash or easily changed into cash on short notice with minimal or no loss:. #owever, these generally have low yields. Because of the opportunities for earning a higher return with a relatively small pool of funds, some financial e&perts suggest that savers consider slightly higher risk 9 ut li'uid: alternatives for at least part of their savings. "aved money is insurance. It is insurance against risk, against losing your 8o , against having a ma8or une&pected repair ill or medical e&pense in the family. It is the ack one of you and your family=s financial well0 eing. "aved money grants you financial security. !nd the more you save, the more financial secure and independent you will e. The goal of investing is generally to increase net worth and work toward long0term goals. Investing involves risk. Risk of your stocks losing money, or even going ankrupt 9Enron, )7I, the airlines, etc. etc.:. Risk of interest rates rising, and ond prices falling. Risks of your roker swindled you, or coerced you though his sales pitch to uy speculative investments. Risks of the economy. Risks of a particular industry. Risk of losing your principal. Risk of losing it all, and then some 9such as with margin calls:. !rimary . Secondary $arket There are two ways for investors to get shares from the primary and secondary markets. In primary markets, securities are ought y way of pu lic issue directly from the company. In "econdary market share are traded etween two investors. !-)$A-/ $A-0" )arket for new issues of securities, as distinguished from the"econdary )arket, where previously issued securities are ought and sold. ! market is primary if the proceeds of sales go to the issuer of the securities sold. This is part of the financial market where enterprises issue their new shares and onds. It is characterised y eing the only moment when the enterprise receives money in e&change for selling its financial assets.

S"%O#DA-/ $A-0" The market where securities are traded after they are initially offered in the primary market. )ost trading is done in the secondary market. To e&plain further, it is Trading in previously issued financial instruments. !n organiAed market for used securities. E&amples are the 3ew 5ork "tock E&change 935"E:, Bom ay "tock E&change 9B"E:,3ational "tock E&change 3"E, ond markets, over0the0counter markets, residential mortgage loans, governmental guaranteed loans etc. What is a Stock +roker ! stock roker is a person or a firm that trades on its clients ehalf, you tell them what you want to invest in and they will issue the uy or sell order. "ome stock rokersalso give out financial advice that you a charged for. It wasn=t too long ago and investing was very e&pensive ecause you had to go through a full service roker which would give you advice on what to do and would charge you a hefty fee for it. 3ow there are a plethora of discountstock rokers such as "cottrade http4>>www.scottrade.com now you can trade stocks for a low fee such as ?@ total. I can think of three different types of stock rokers. ,. ,ull Service +roker 0 ! full0service roker can provide a unch of services such as investment research advice, ta& planning and retirement planning. <. Discount +roker D ! discount roker let=s you uy and sell stocks at a low rate ut doesn=t provide any investment advice. E. Direct-Access +roker0 ! direct access roker lets you trade directly with the electronic communication networks 9E73=s: so you can trade faster. !ctive traders such as day traders tend to use 1irect !ccess Brokers "o as you can tell there a few options for a stock roker and you really need to pick which one suits you needs.