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Discount brokerage firms: A discount brokerage firm is one that primarily exists to execute trades. Depending on the firm, full-service brokers can charge from 10 to 20 times more than a discount brokerage. And this doesn’t include the additional annual maintenance fee that many full-service firms charge.

            Buying stocks through a discount brokerage is extremely easy to do. It involves only a few clicks of the mouse. The only perceived drawback to going through a discount broker is that people who don’t know much about the financial markets don’t trust themselves to do it alone. The purpose of this book is to convince you that you can go it alone. Hopefully, by the time you finish reading, you will have that confidence.

            If you do not feel comfortable making decisions for yourself after reading this book, then by all means invest in the stock market through mutual funds which can be bought directly through mutual fund companies. That is, go through a discount broker if you feel confident enough to invest on your own. If you do not, bypass brokerages altogether and invest through a mutual fund. In no circumstances should you get a full-service broker. It costs far too much, and their advice is dubious at best. Below is a sample of discount brokerage firms.