Brokers handle most of the buying and selling on the stock market, and the average investor will use a brokerage service to handle his trades. There is a broad range of brokerage services available. There are brokers who offer many services for aiding their clients meet their investment goals. These ‘full-service brokers’ can give advice about which stocks to buy and sell and often have full research facilities for analyzing market trends and predicting movements.

These perks are not free – full service brokers charge the highest commission rates in the industry. Whether or not you decide to use a full-service broker depends on your level of self-confidence, your knowledge of the stock market and the number of trades you regularly make.

Is there a difference between the kinds of stock trades you can make with a brick and mortar broker versus an online stock trading broker? How do you know which online stock trading broker to choose?

It really depends on what services you are looking for because you can find almost everything online that you can find in the brick and mortar stock broker world. If you are interested in day trading, then you need to find a brokerage firm that specializes in day trading. Do your homework first though. On the other hand, if you’re looking to invest for the long-term, you’ll want to find brokerage firms that specialize in long-term investing.