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Why do you need an online broker?
CS journalists

If you want to buy stocks and run your own investment portfolio then you're going to have to find yourself a broker. Of course, you could offload these responsibilities to a full-service stockbroker instead - and pay a tonne more in brokerage - but do you really think that someone else will care more about your money than you do?

If you own a computer, have access to the Internet and at least $1,000 to spare, then you can open an account. You don't have to limit yourself to buying local shares either - since most online brokers today offer trading in including international shares, contracts for difference (CFDs), options and warrants. You can even buy managed funds much cheaper than going through the fund manager directly, or via a financial adviser, since most online brokers will deduct the contribution or entry fee you pay, saving you as much as 5 per cent upfront.

It's often said that you'd be better off buying shares in a bank than depositing your money with them. And that's just based on the yearly dividend payments you'll get from blue chip stocks like the big banks. Add on any capital growth from share price rises over the holding period, and you can see why share investing has transformed many frugal investors into millionaires over the long haul. To give you a small taste of sharemarket returns, the Australian sharemarket has generated 12.8 per cent every year over the past 50 years to 30 June 2006. You're certainly not going to get those sorts of returns by having your money rot away in a savings account.

But firstly for those new to investing, don't be paralysed into inaction by confusing finance-speak or the need to know everything. Investing is a gradual process and learning never ends. You'll never know everything so don't think you have to before you start.

Many online brokers offer market, company and stock-related research. Some even sort the winning stocks from the duds by giving you buy and sell recommendations on companies. The quicker you start, the faster you'll learn. So take the reins and check out our comparison tables.