Transfer Brokerage Accounts Easily

Unlike 15 years ago, online brokerages are everywhere. Having immediate access to your investments is no longer a challenge. Due to this increased competition many online brokerages offer services and commissions so enticing that it only makes sense to transfer your investments from one brokerage to another.

Transferring your account to anther online broker is not complicated. When you open a new account make sure to request the paper work for initiating a transfer. You will be asked to complete the information for the broker you are transferring from. You also have the opportunity to choose whether your funds should be brought over "In Kind", meaning all shares as they are, or to liquidate the investments and just transfer over the cash. Some sites such as ETRADE, Tradeking and Firstrade allow you to choose a dividend reinvestment strategy. Most brokers also require a copy of your last statement from the account being transferred so that they have all the details they need to complete the process.

The biggest concern while transferring is the cost of the transfer. Most inbound transfers are free, but the brokerage you are transferring from most likely will charge you to move your investments out since they are losing your business. To make sure you are not losing money while transferring your assets, make sure that the broker you are transferring to reimburse transfer fees. A site that reimburses transfer fees will credit your account once the transfer is completed. Some online brokers will cover up to $150 in transfer fees when moving your account over to them. Scottrade will refund account transfer fees under $100 for new accounts. There is also a Tradeking promo that will cover up to $150 in fees when using them for your investment needs. Be sure to read the fine print regarding the fees reimbursement to make sure you do everything that is required.

Once the transfer is in process your positions and cash will be moved from one account to the other. If you have no use for your old account, make sure to close it as a broker transfer request does not always close the source account. Be sure to have a recent statement from your old account to make sure everything has been moved over correctly.

You have worked hard for your money, so make sure that you are using the best brokerage out there that fits your fund strategy, and if the current one you are using does not, then transfer it to one that does. Most sites make this process very easy, but beware of those pesky fees!

Steve C provides information about Tradeking Promo Code through his website Budgetcents.

Internet Stock Trading

What to Avoid in Internet Stock Trading

There are plenty of people who find Internet Stock Trading sort of a godsend in allowing them the ease of accessing a large market and giving them the opportunity to reap in wealth - just as other investors all over the world. It is true that money is there to be made on the stock market, whether not it is on or offline but you need to understand that anything where money is involved carries with it the risks.

This is a baggage that comes with any sort of investment. If you buy a car, it is an investment but the risks are felt immediately when you leave the showroom as the car depreciates. There are risks also of accidents, bad engineering and that the car will become more of a bane than a financial boon to you. There is also a risk that the value of the car will be almost negligible when you decide to sell it a few years down the road. You see, something as simple as buying a small car can have risks. We all view the purchase of such a machine to be an investment, and we understand that it comes with a risk as well. So, when you are talking about one of the world's largest investment platform in the world, then you are also talking about some really big risks.

To avoid reaching in and getting pulled into the market as well as having no control, there are some things you need to avoid when talking about putting your money into the stocks and bonds of a company. One of the things you need to avoid is NOT having a sound strategy. You need to formulate your own strategy and base this on what you know about the market, the company, its stocks, its history and what kinds of products or commodities that they deal in. Factor in market behaviour and a whole host of fundamental analysis and you should be able to draw up a plan from there. This is the best edge that you, as a trader, can have at the beginning of your investment career. One other thing to avoid is to not get bitten by the 'trade nig' bug. Bigger is not always better and when you lose big, you will know what I mean. Always trade small amounts at first and build up a fortune enough for you to diversify your portfolio and take some larger risks at a later stage. read MORE

One Simple Tip to Improve Your Options Trading

Options trading is risky. This is what you hear about all the time. However, above all, Options Trading is STRESSFUL! Yes, most beginners lose money in options trading not because they cannot choose the correct stocks (most professionals cannot consistently get the correct stocks too!) but because they cannot handle the stress that comes with options trading and then crack and make all the wrong moves.

Are you one of them?

Have you ever bought a bunch of call options for a few stocks and then have your account value go down 30% to 40% overnight just because the stock vibrated in the wrong direction? What did you do? Your emotions got fired up and you decided to do the clever thing and executed your stop loss policy just to see the stock go back in the expected direction a few days later, denying you hundreds of percent in profit.

Yes, options trading is leverage and therefore is volatile! It is not strange to see your account value go down drastically especially during the first couple of days due to the often much wider bid ask spread of options and time decay should the stock move against you. So, how can anyone make money through directional trades?

One simple tip: Watch the Price Action of the stock and not your account value!

Price action means the change in price of your stock and whether or not its chart formation still conforms to your initial expectation. Watching the price action of the stock and not your account value keeps you objective when trading options. In the example above, when your account value go down 30% or 40%, you would instantly panic if you are going by nothing but your account value. However, if you are going by the Price Action of the stock, you might see that this small pullback does not compromise the initial setup of the stock and that its trend is still stable and decide to hold on. You will identify areas of support and resistance on the stock's price chart itself in order to determine when to sell the stock options. By doing so, you will be able to make more winning trades than losing ones over time if your entry setup is reliable.

Yes, directional options trading for leverage is all about the Price Action of the stock! If the stock moves, the options will too and you will make money. If you allow the volatility of your options position and its impact on your account value hit your emotional buttons, you will always find yourself selling out of winning trades with a loss. Adhere to this one simple tip and you will improve your options trading performance!

Jason Ng is the Founder and Chief Option Strategist of Masters 'O' Equity Asset Management (MastersoEquity.com) and author of an Options Trading education site, Optiontradingpedia.com. He is a fund manager specializing in options trading and his revolutionary Star Trading System has helped thousands..

Basics of Dividends

What exactly are dividends? You've heard that you can make money by investing in companies that pay dividends, but how does that work?

When companies make profits, they often distribute a portion of the profits to the shareholders. The company will retain a portion of the profits for future use. Some companies hold a large portion back while others are generous in their dividend payments -- it depends on where the company is and how well it is doing financially.

Dividends are often in the form of cash, yet some companies issue stock instead. Stocks that have a good history of paying dividends are attractive to investors. These companies are solid and profitable, but often offer little growth potential in their stock. The dividend actually gives an investor a reason to purchase the stock.

The company is under no obligation to pay a dividend. There isn't a preset amount that they must pay stockholders. The company board of directors determines the dividend amount. If the company is in financial trouble or facing an overhaul, the board has every option to forgo the dividend. One of the warning signs that a company is in trouble is the elimination of dividend payments.

The dividend is set at a per share basis. For example, the board may decide on a $0.30 dividend per share. If you own 1,000 shares of stock, you will get a check for $500. If you own 100 shares of stock, you can expect a check for $50.

The board sets the dividend and announces when stockholders can expect checks at the declaration date. The ex-dividend date will also be announced at this time. The list of shareholders to receive the dividend will be set on the record date. If you want to get the dividend, you must own the stock before this date.

The ex-dividend date falls a couple of days before the record date. This date allows for the completion of pending transactions. If you want to own the stock and receive the dividend, you need to have your transaction through by this date. After the ex-dividend date, the market will discount the stock's price because the dividend will no longer be available to buyers.

The payment date is when the company actually mails the checks. This usually occurs two weeks after the record date.

There are two types of dividends: fixed and variable. Fixed rate dividends go to the owners of preferred stock. Common stock holders receive variable dividends.

Dividends are a great way to make money and often offer a fairly steady income if the stocks are chosen wisely. Many investors find that buying stocks with a good history of dividend payments is good for the growth of their portfolios.

Martin Lukac represents RateTake Refinance Rate mortgage marketplace. RateTake matches consumers with multiple lenders offering low Refinance Rates from our network of accredited lenders

The Sweet Story of Hershey Stock Certificates

All of us are aware of the Hershey Foods Company. Many of us consume something made by the Hershey Food Company at least once per week, especially if that something is a candy bar. However, the company was formerly known as the Hershey Foods Corporation, up until 2004. And if you're into collecting stock certificates, know someone who is, or you are thinking about it, these are very interesting and historical stock certificates to get your hands on.

The Hershey's was founded in 1894, but the process began in 1876 when Milton Hershey began a candy shop in Philadelphia. However, it failed just six years after being opened. After a failed endeavor in New York City, he returned to Philadelphia and started the Lancaster Caramel Company and this is an endeavor that proved to be successful. However, he sold it in 1900 to concentrate on making chocolate, so he began constructing a chocolate plant in 1903. After the plant began manufacturing chocolate, it was very successful. However, it was prior to this, in 1896, that Hershey had built a milk chocolate plant, which resulted in the Hershey Process in 1899. This is the very process that is used today.

Hershey's became incorporated in 1908. With this incorporation, they were made a publicly traded company. And there are some very interesting facts regarding Hershey's stocks. For instance, we all know that a stock split is a good thing. A person can have one stock split into two, which means more shares for them. Well, this has happened on several different occasions with Hershey's. They saw a 3-for-1 stock split in 1947, a 5-for-1 stock dividend in 1962, and a series of 3-for-1 and 2-for-1 stock splits from 1983 to 2004. Anyone interested in collecting Hershey Foods stock certificates may wish to have stock certificates from these very special periods in Hershey stock history.

Another interesting aspect of Hershey stock history that is very special is the stock that was given to the Industrial School of Orphans in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Hershey had established the school in 1909 with his wife, but his wife passed away in 1915 and, since he was childless, he made sure that the school was set up very well financially for many years to come. The stocks that he awarded them were valued at $60 million at the time. To this day, the school still owns 31% of the company's stock. As of 2007, the company's worth stood at $4.97 billion and the revenue continues to grow every single year.

Even though the company is still in operation and will be for a very long time, there are a number of canceled stock certificates out there available for collectors to purchase. Perhaps one could even find themselves in possession of a canceled stock certificate awarded to the Industrial School of Orphans. If so, that is a certificate that would be very special to have, just like any Hershey's certificate would be due to the incredible history of this very strong company.

Visit RealStockCertificates.com for better quality antique stock certificates at better prices. Article by Larry Crain - Scripophily collector.