It’s a good idea to start investing as soon as possible because of the compounding interest principle. If you invest early, you will have longer years before retirement, allowing your initial investment to compound and earn greater interest.
But, in order to invest in stocks, how old do you have to be? Is it permissible for a kid to begin investing using the money obtained from a part-time job?
We’ll learn a little bit more about the age requirements for investing today. We’ll also teach you how to start investing as a minor with a custodial account, as well as how to prepare yourself now for the best possible market entry once you’re legally ready to do so.
Why Are There Age Limits on Investing in Stocks?
In most states, the minimum age to invest in the stock market is 21. You can start investing in the stock market after you reach 18 if you live in California, the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, South Dakota, Oklahoma, or Virginia.
Why is it necessary to be 18 years old to invest in the stock market? Because purchasing and selling stocks entails signing a contract, you must be 18 to begin investing. It’s easy to forget in this day and age that when you purchase or sell a stock, you’re signing a contract agreeing to the transaction when you place your order.
A minor is unable to lawfully engage into a contract, and any deal signed by a minor is void. As a result, brokers will not let you open a brokerage account until you reach the minimum investing age in your state.
Is it Still Possible to Make a Contribution to an Investment Account?
You cannot own or run a brokerage account as a minor. A custodial account, on the other hand, can give you access to the financial markets.
A custodial account is a sort of brokerage account that belongs to a minor’s parent or legal guardian. The assets in the account, on the other hand, are lawfully held in the minor’s name until they reach the legal age to start investing.
You can ask your parent or legal guardian to deposit your money and make transactions on your behalf using a custodial account. You can tell your account custodian, who is usually your parent, the assets you want to buy or sell.
Your guardian, on the other hand, must be the one who manages the account and places the orders. You’ll be able to start executing orders yourself after you achieve the required age to start investing in your state, and administrative controls will be transferred to your name.
How to Get Ready to Invest in the Stock Market
The only way to learn more about the stock market is to open your own brokerage account. If you know you want to trade, there are actions you can do right now to improve your knowledge and position yourself for the best possible market entry once you reach the age of majority.
Learn about the terms used in stock trading.
There are a plethora of online educational materials available to help you learn about stock trading, investing, and the various types of securities available. You might want to look into the following:
Assets that can be traded
Did you know that most brokers may help you buy and sell stocks other than common stock? You might be interested in learning more about the various types of tradable assets available, such as options contracts, futures, ADRs, FX, and cryptocurrencies. You’ll also want to learn the distinctions and similarities between ETFs and mutual funds.
What Are the Different Stock Types?
Many new investors are likewise astonished to hear that stocks come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Learn the differences between blue chip stocks, penny stocks, value stocks, growth stocks, and other types of stocks, as well as the risks and rewards of investing in each.
The Various Types of Purchase and Sale Orders
To purchase shares of stock, you can utilise a variety of different buy and sell orders. Learn about the many types of stop-loss, limit, and market orders, as well as when to use each.
Financial Information
Publicly traded corporations are required to make certain financial information available to the public on a regular basis. Stock buyers can learn more about the businesses they’re investing in by looking at these documents.
Learn how to read an SEC report and become familiar with some of the most prevalent terminology used by specialists when discussing a stock’s performance and prospects. Get to know words like “dividend,” “dividend yield,” “earnings per share,” “PE ratio,” and others.
While you’re still in school, take some classes.
If you’re still in high school and believe you might like to work as a stockbroker, investment manager, or financial planner in the future, there are classes you may take to obtain more market experience. You might wish to look into the following categories, depending on what your school has to offer.
Monetary policy
Economic classes will teach you more about market cycles, how international and domestic markets interact, and how political pressures can affect domestic prices.
Statistical data
When it comes to making informed market selections, many would-be stock traders are astonished to find how important ratios, probabilities, and averages are. Statistics or other high-level mathematics courses can help you better grasp how traders and brokers employ these algorithms to generate more profitable trading results.
Administration of Business
Courses in business administration will teach you more about how firms run and issue stock. When you start investing, you’ll be better prepared to analyse and participate in initial public offerings (IPOs).
Finance Finance classes are also a good option for those interested in getting into the stock market. These courses will teach you the fundamentals of investing as well as some of the more complicated rules that govern investment banks, hedge funds, and other financial institutions.
Set up a meeting with your guidance counsellor to review your school’s unique offers if you think a career in investing or finance is suited for you. Some schools even offer co-op programmes with local community colleges to let you begin earning college credit before you enrol in a university.
Market “Participation”
If you’re under the age of 18, you won’t be able to trade with real money, but there’s nothing stopping you from playing the stock market on paper. Take out a notebook and write down a starting amount for your “brokerage account.”
After that, utilise a stock screener to browse the market – FINVIZ is a great resource that is both free and informative. Find stocks based on their price, volatility, average daily volume, and other factors.
You might also start with stocks from firms you’re already acquainted with, such as AT&T or Disney. Without risking any of your own money, trade on paper for a few weeks, tracking your buy and sell prices to establish a trading strategy.
If you can consistently make lucrative deals, you’ll be off to a good start when you do start trading for real.
Register for Newsletters
It’s also a good time to start reading financial newsletters or finding and following a market news source. Investigate a few different financial market-related websites and news sources.
Make a list of a few websites’ home pages that you find useful and easy to read. Check in with your new source several times during the day to become familiar with the distinctions between pre-market news, post-closing news, and mid-day activity updates.
Brokers to Compare
You can also start studying brokers now to help you prepare for a successful future career in stock trading. You can purchase and sell stocks from your phone or computer with dozens of brokerages that offer online discount accounts. When you’re legally able to open your own account, doing your research now will save you a lot of time later.
You can buy and sell stocks and ETFs with any broker, and almost all of them include real-time trading charts. Depending on which tools and details you want, the best broker for you may differ. When comparing brokers, keep the following in mind:
User-Friendliness
Every broker has its unique platform; some are designed for complete market newbies, while others are designed for more experienced traders who require more advanced charting tools.
As a newbie, you’ll generally want to start with a broker that has a straightforward and easy-to-use interface. On their websites, most brokers have video tutorials that show how the platform operates.
Look for a platform that emphasises easy order placement and demonstrates how to use all of its features.
Commissions and Fees
In exchange for executing your transactions, many brokers impose an account fee or a per-transaction commission. Look for a broker who charges cheap commissions and fees. Better still, open an account with a broker who doesn’t charge any commissions.
Educational Materials
It’s never too late to pick up new investing skills. Choose a broker that provides a variety of video tutorials, courses, ebooks, and webinars to help you improve your trading and develop a good technique.
If you know which broker you want to use, you should contact a representative and request a demo account. Many brokers provide demo or dummy trading accounts, which let you practise using the software and making phoney trades until you’re ready to register a real account.
Getting Started on a Successful Investing Career
In most parts of the country, you can’t purchase or sell stocks until you’re 21 – though numerous states have an 18-year-old trading age. This is because purchasing and selling stocks necessitates the use of contracts, which a child is unable to sign.
If you already have money and wish to start investing, ask your parent or legal guardian to open a custodial account for you. A custodial account is one that is held by a parent or guardian until you reach the age of majority in your state. You can put your own money into a custodial account, make direct transactions, and study assets, but the buy and sell orders must be entered by your parent or guardian.
There are also a variety of resources available to help you understand more about the market as a teen before you begin investing. Familiarizing yourself with common stock trading words and attending business and finance courses in school can provide you with a foundation of knowledge that you may use now and in the future. You can also utilise dummy accounts to start investigating brokerages and learning how to use screening tools.
You can get ahead of the game when it comes to investing and planning for the future if you follow these measures.