How to Buy & Sell Stocks Free of Charge
- 1). Contact the human resources department at the company you work for and ask if the firm has an employee stock purchase plan, or ESPP, in place. These plans provide a number of important benefits, including the ability to buy stock in your company at no charge. In addition, many employee stock purchase plans allow employees to purchase company stock at a discount of between 5% and 15%.
- 2). Consider investing in a no-load index mutual funds to lower your costs and reduce the volatility of your portfolio. With a no-load mutual fund you can purchase and redeem shares at no charge, and the expenses on these mutual funds can be as low as 0.19%.
- 3). Make a list of the companies in which you want to invest, then log on to the company's website and find the investor relations link. Ask the firm if they participate in a dividend reinvestment, or DRIP, plan. These plans allow investors to buy and sell shares of stock directly with the company, without the cost of a broker.
- 4). Read financial newspapers like the Wall Street Journal, Barrons and Investors Business Daily to get information about other stocks available through DRIP plans. The dripcentral.com website is also a good source of information regarding dividend reinvestment stocks.