Great question Doc!!!
My guess is that is the #1 question on non-investors minds .
Working with a good broker within a good company is always a good start at the beginning . If they are any good at what they do they will start you out slowly investing in the market and then build on a trusting lasting business relationship .
Their responibility to me goes way beyond buying a stock through their company . I want and get monthly reports , projections, retirement savings projections , and tax saving advice, etc.
But there are other ways to learn without paying a broker through commissions . Many Colleges now have excellent night MINI classes that you can take to learn about investing and the ins and outs of the Stock Exchange . Many have brokers come in and teach the classes . You would be amazed at how many in the group are retired folks or over 40 just trying to stretch their dollar.There are no College class credits and it is usally a 4-6 week course .
Another way to start is to get your kids involved too . Set up a small account at a brokage firm for your kids . You can make small deposits monthly (say $25 -$50 bucks) and then get then involved in investing that into stocks . You will be amazed to see them heading to the computer to track the progress of their investments . You should have heard my son at the age of 7 ,LOL
. He sounded like a finacial expert !
It can lead to a very Money responible young adult who is light years ahead of most kids his age !
Computers have made it so easy to learn about a certain stock . For example : Put in a company name in the stock lookup bar in Yahoo . That company should come up and give you a ton of information . you can check growth charts , look at analyst projections , highs and lows for the year, a summary of what they do .dividend reports,or even join in on company discussion boards and so on .
As far as buying on line and who to use or who is best , I will need some input from other members on that , as that is a area I have not ventured into .