Super Stock Picker Forum

hello all, new to this forum, and also new to stocks.
ive been doing some research for the past couple days, just reading up about different discount brokers, and about stocks in general.
im looking to start with just $1000....for now, now i have read on here that the usual suggestion is to start with no less than 5-10 thousand, but i just dont want to put in that much money just yet.

im mostly interested in the TSX for now and that probably is going to be my focus for the next couple of months, or untill i am willing to put in more money and expand a bit.

my main concern right now is deciding on a broker, ive narrowed it down to questtrade or tradefreedom, im not going to be a very active trader for now, and dont intend to pay xtra fees for more data and other things like that, although i do hope to become more active in the future.

basically im just looking for some opinions from people with those brokers, pros and cons, how do you like tha trading platform? does one broker offer a better platform than the other? does one offer more than the other with just a basic set up of an individual cash account (maybe better data at no xtra cost)

i did notice questrade has a couple platforms...but i couldnt exactly find out which ones are free and which ones you have to pay for...are they all free?

hopefully you guys can help point me in the right direction for me to start off in :D

thnx!

I suggest you open a savings account and set up a monthly savings plan.  While you are building up your equity, start doing some paper trading.  But you must have a plan.  That is what the paper trading is for.  You can't get anywhere unless you have a plan.  Use the paper trading to test or discover a plan that works for you.  Each time you invest, write a small paragraph as to how it fits into your plan and why you picked it in the first place.  Also have an exit plan, both for taking a profit and minimizing your losses.  Or find a plan, like here at SSP and follow it.

Investing is not all that different than gambling.  You are trying to ensure that the odds are in you favor. We all know that flipping a coin gives you 50/50 odds.  However it is impossible to get those odds with just one flip.  Even a small handful of flips may not get those odds.  With more flips of the coin, 50/50 odds becomes more realistic.  So work with paper trading first to find the plan that works and gets you the odds in your favor.  $1000 won't get you many flips of the coin.  If you "...just don't want to put that much money in just yet."  Then I am also sure that you don't want to risk all your eggs on a couple of flips of the coin.

Sorry, I don't have any experience with either of the brokers you mention, maybe compare them based on interest paid on cash balances, and if they offer paper trading accounts.

Cheers