Stock broking is quite a sought out profession in India and the Indian Stock Market has seen a tremendous growth in the past decade or so. This article focuses on different types of stock brokers in India. We will also discuss the process of selecting a stock broker in India and the charges associated by Stock Brokers in India.
What are Stock Brokers?
A Stock Broker is a professional whose job is to buy and sell stocks, derivatives, bonds, etc. in the stock market on behalf of their clients. They are also referred to as a registered representative, investment advisor or just a broker. Stock brokers are usually linked with a brokerage firm which employs lots of stock brokers. They charge varying amounts of commissions for their services which are charged as a percentage of each trade activity made by them on the behalf of the client.
Types of Stock Brokers
There are two major types of stock brokers in the industry – Full service broker and Discount brokers. You can select either of these two types according to your needs.
Full Service Broker
Full service brokers, or traditional brokers are brokers which provide various services ranging from investment advice, financial planning, portfolio updates, etc. They provide personalised investment services with personalised recommendation to their clients. This is the reason why they are more expensive when compared to discount brokers. Some of the leading full service broking firms in India are ICICI Securities, HDFC Securities, Share Khan, Axis Securities and Angel Broking.
Discount Broker
Discount Stock Broker, or online brokers do not provide personalised investment services and leave the client independent to choose a stock of their choice to invest in. There is rarely any interaction between the brokers and the clients. Discount brokers are preferred by clients who are fee-conscious and who prefer to take control of their trades rather than following the advice of full service brokers. Since discount brokers do not provide personalised services, their service fees are quite low when compared to full service brokers. Some of the leading discount brokers in India are Zerodha, Upstox, Samco, 5Paisa, and Fyers.
How do you choose a right Stock Broker for yourself?
If you are looking to invest in the stock market, the very first thing you ought to do is to pick a broker who is going to handle your trades in the stock market.
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Picking a stock broker is not very much different from picking stocks and is of no less importance either. It depends on your style of investment.
Experience
The years of experience that your broker has in the industry are a very important detail that should be factored in while deciding upon a stock broker. Active trading in the stock market requires a lot of experience and an inexperienced stock broker can lead to losses due to tardy trades. This is the reason why you should look into the years of experience the stock broker has before finalising.
User & Critique Review
You should also look for reviews and user critiques from the previous clients of the stock broker you are looking to hire. You will get to know about the pros and cons and weigh them in to make a decision. You should also assure that the user reviews are genuine reviews from real clients.
Trading Platforms
You should also look into the trading platforms that your stock broker is using to make the trades on your behalf. If you are looking for a discount broker, you will be provided with a trading platform with an online account to make trades so the quality of the trading platform is quintessential to make your decision.
Products & Service
You should also look at what kinds of financial products the stock broker deals in and what kinds of services they can provide with you. A good stock broker provides a wide array of financial products for their users to choose from to make trades in. You should look for a stock broker who deals in a wide variety of financial products like stocks, options, futures, bonds, etc.
Brokerage & Other Charges
One of the most important things that should affect your decision of choosing a stock broker is the brokerage charges that they charge their users. If you choose a stock broker with high brokerage charges, then you will have to pay a high percentage of every trade you make to the stock broker. On the other hand, a stock broker with less fees is not very likely to provide a lot of services to their clients.
Conclusion
Choosing a stock broker is a tedious and an important process for an investor. It is as important as choosing the stocks to invest in. If you choose the wrong stock broker, it can lead to losses for you. There are various details that you should factor in to your final decision. These details are – the experience of the stock broker, the user critique and reviews, the trading platforms they use the products and services they provide as well as their brokerage charges.
