Before you decide to manage your own investment portfolio online, there are a few questions you should ask yourself:

  • What kind of investor are you? By going this route, you have the responsibility for researching all investments and making all of the investment decisions in your online account. If you don’t feel comfortable as that type of investor, you might be more comfortable working with a Financial Advisor. If you prefer to direct your own investments and feel confident in your investment knowledge, you may want to consider online investing.
  • What kind of account do you want to open? For example, a self-directed investing account allows you to manage your own investment decisions. Another example is a robo-advisory account that automatically curates a diversified portfolio and maintains and rebalances the portfolio over time through algorithms. The type of account you choose will depend on the objectives you have for the money you are investing and how you want to invest.
  • Which companies and types of securities are you interested in? For self-directed investors, it pays to do your homework. There is some degree of risk associated with all types of investments, so you will want to conduct some research to help make informed investment decisions. Learning some basic online investing terminology may be helpful.

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