Once you decide to start stock broking - buying stocks, shares and bonds or other investments, you will probably need to get stock broking advice from a professional stock broker, who can tell you what and how much of each to buy. Many people have lost money by investing in shares, so you need to be careful. Those shares that are considered high-risk will give you a higher return, but of course you may also lose money if the stock market crashes.

If you are not comfortable with a high level of risk, then choose those managed funds that are considered low risk or safe, and even though your returns will be lower, the risk of losing all your money is much smaller. When choosing a managed fund, look carefully at the product disclosure statements. You may find that due to the fee involved you would get just as good a return on your money by having it in an e-saver account where there is a good rate of interest and no fees at all.

If you do decide to go ahead and invest in stocks and shares, you have the choice of a managed fund, where a team of professional stockbrokers do all the work for you. Naturally, you must pay them to do this, but if you choose a fund with low fees, it won’t be too much of a slug. Even if you decide to do the buying and selling yourself, you will still need a stock-broker to follow your instructions as to what to buy and sell and when.

A stockbroker has been trained to invest in the share market and must be registered to do so. You may have a stockbroker who gives you the benefit of his experience and tells you what you should buy or sell, then does it for you. Many times he will do this work without letting you know, because there may not be time. Of course, he will have consulted you about your general wishes and needs beforehand, then work to the best of his ability to fulfill them. For instance, if you tell him to only buy low-risk shares, then he will certainly confine his activities to those.

Or you could have a stock broker who advises you what to do, then leaves it up to you to do it. This can be done online or by phone. This option is the less expensive of the two, since you are doing most of the work. Buying and selling online or by phone is using technology to cut costs. One thing is for sure, once you start into stock broking, you life will never be boring.