Need advice on limit orders

I am thinking about investing in stocks. I have read a little about placing stock orders with directives to sell at a pre-determined limit (high or low). Can somebody help explain to me what the 'street term' is for this type of transaction?

I am considering an online broker that lists a different commission charge for 'options' orders with a 'per contract' fee. This is all fairly new to me, but I would like the concept of cutting my losses if the stock turns south (or taking my profits at a set amount).

I hope this posting makes sense to somebody and it might even be a good topic for a future Kiplinger article?

Steve

go to yahoo finance or kiplinger.com and you can learn about that and a whole lot more

I'm a bit confused by the "directives to sell at a pre-determined limit (high or low)" You would always want to sell high unless you are shorting. Stop-loss to protect the appreciation of a stock. A stock you bought at $20 is now $50. You would put in a stop-loss for $45 (usually 10% of value). If that stock goes to $75 in the future you would place a new stop-loss for $67.50 which is called a "trailing stop".

In regards to switching brokers I think your looking at the wrong price list. Options are different from an equity order. Look for a broker that doesn't charge more for a stop or limit order.

Wachovia Bank is my broker; I believe that their commissions and fees are reasonable; I have yet to compare them to other brokers. I welcome 'feedback' from everyone. I decided what price I would like to receive for my stock, placed a limit order with Wachovia brokerage and the stock rose to that price. There are no guarantees; I can always lower my selling price if I need the principal for an expenditure or wait patiently for the stock to appreciate.

Dear Stockwell,
Please do some comparitive shopping . . . and let us know what you learn.

Right now, I am using Vanguard Brokerage Services. It is costing me $30 a year, as an annual fee. And, $25 a trade - buy or sell - via on-line brokerage.

I am curious as to whether that is expensive, or cheap.

MadPoet.

I will do some comparative shopping and let you know what I find. My brokeage charge is $50.00 annually unless I make a trade; then there is no charge. The commission is dependent on the sale price. Thank you for your wisdom.

That's actually quite a bit your paying. Scottrade is no annual fee and no cost trades on most funds. No hand-holding though if you need it.

Dear Stockwell,
Please do some comparitive shopping . . . and let us know what you learn.

Right now, I am using Vanguard Brokerage Services. It is costing me $30 a year, as an annual fee. And, $25 a trade - buy or sell - via on-line brokerage.

I am curious as to whether that is expensive, or cheap.

MadPoet.

Yikes.. I hope they offer quite a lot of support for that , do you get a live broker to help you out or you're on your own ?

I have not had the time to comparitive shop as of yet. Wachovia seems to charge a percentage of the trade. I am comfortable with this brokerage and bank at present. Everything is local and I have a good relationship with them. This works for me.

Your brokerage seems to be economical. Most of my trades of 200 shares
have $50 - $100 brokerage fees.

I hope you do not trade too often if you pay $50-100 per trade. :eek:

Most online services are $10.99 per trade, and you can trade more than 200 shares at a time, by far.

It is not that having a good relationship with your broker is bad thing, but you can buy low and sell high (if all goes well) online, and still feel good about making money without the handshake and a pat on the back.

Scottrade is great, you only have to pay about $7 per trade or so.

You definitely want to check out Firstrade. We're similar to Scottrade, but we offer online stock orders at $6.95, as opposed to Scottrade's $7, and online option orders at $6.95 plus $0.75 per contract, as opposed to Scottrade's $7 plus $1.25 per contract. At Firstrade, there is also no minimum initial deposit.