Six month’s worth salary is a minimum amount to keep in savings. For more security, consider saving a year’s worth or more.

Money managers are the most hands-off of all of the broker options. They handle all of your trades, determine goals for your portfolio, and update you on its growth and progress. However, they also charge large management fees and require initial investments upwards of $100,000 or $250,000. [3] X Research source Full-service brokers offer, as the name implies, the most amount of services. They sit down with you to determine your financial goals based on your age, retirement plans, marital status, personality, and risk tolerance. They work with you to make investment strategies and also will make direct trades if you call and ask them to. They can offer advice on anything from taxes to estate planning. Accounts can be opened for as little as $1,000, but fees are generally higher than those for online brokerages. [4] X Research source

Day trading is a stock trading strategy in which an investor buys and sells the same stock within the same day. Day traders typically hope to take advantage of small price fluctuations and make quick returns. [5] X Research source

Some of the most reputable online brokers are: Fidelity, Scottrade, E*Trade, OptionsHouse, TD Ameritrade, Charles Schwab, TradeStation, and Interactive Brokers. [6] X Research source

For reference, most online brokers require between $500 and $1000. [7] X Research source However, there are also discount brokers with a $0 minimum and higher-tier brokers with minimums of up to $25,000.

Again, which fees are most relevant to you will depend on what type of trading you plan to do. High trade commissions are a non-issue if you plan to hold your securities for long periods of time. However, a day trader would prefer one of the brokers with $1 trade commissions. Day trading has been proven in academic studies to be less profitable that passive investing (buying and holding securities for longer periods of time). This is partially due to losses sustained on bad trades, but also to fees charged on each trade. [8] X Research source

Personal information, like your name, address, and work information Your Social Security number or card Your W-9 form Up to two other forms of identification Other information or documents as required by your broker. [10] X Research source

For more on diversification, see how to build a diversified portfolio.