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Q: What Is an Investment Broker?

Investment brokers enable individuals to buy and sellfinancial securities, like stocks or bonds, on an exchange market. It’s really as simple as that.

Mar

2025

Investment and Financial Brokers Explained

By Michael Flannelly | Growing Wealth, invest, Investing, Terminology | Comments Off

A number of investors trade stocks and bonds through an investment broker. What is a broker? A broker, or brokerage firm, is the middleman between the buyer and seller and can help make a transaction go smoothly. But an investment broker is not strictly necessary. Some companies offer a direct stock plan, allowing investors to purchase shares straight from the company without a broker.

In order to decide if you need an investment broker, it’s essential to know how a broker works, what exactly they do, and how to shop around for one that fits your needs.

Key Points

• Investment brokers assist with buying and selling securities, ensuring transactions are legitimate and handling necessary documentation.

• Brokers include full-service, discount, online, and robo-advisors, each with unique features.

• Using a broker provides accessibility and expertise but involves fees and potential conflicts of interest.

• Investment accounts vary, including taxable brokerage, retirement, and college savings plans.

• Choosing a broker requires comparing fees, account minimums, and the level of guidance offered.

What Is an Investment Broker?

Investment brokers enable individuals to buy and sell financial securities, like stocks or bonds, on an exchange market. It’s really as simple as that. Though brokers do have several varying roles and responsibilities, and can offer a number of services to their clients.

Roles and Responsibilities

Reputable brokers act as a boon to both buyers and sellers: They ensure that each party actually has the money to buy assets or the assets to sell.

Brokers settle trades by delivering securities and payments to each party, while also taking care of all the bookkeeping and tax-related documentation required. In many cases, going through a brokerage firm may be the easiest and most accessible way for individuals to get started with investing.

Types of Brokerage Accounts

There are many kinds of brokerage accounts to choose from. For instance, you may want to choose between a brokerage account vs. a cash management account, both of which are offered by brokerages.

The best product or service for you will depend on your individual financial goals and your budget. Here’s what you need to know to help make an informed decision.

Full-service Brokers

Along with the ability to buy and sell assets, a full-service brokerage account might also include advice from human financial planners and portfolio management to help you make the best investment decisions possible.

However, these perks often don’t come cheap. Full-service brokerage accounts and wealth-management companies usually calculate their charges as a percentage of your total portfolio, and may have account minimums as high as $250,000. They may also collect trade commissions and annual management fees.

Discount Brokerages

Discount brokers offer less consultation and guidance, allowing you to DIY your investment portfolio cheaply. Many have $0 account minimums and may charge less than $10 per trade, or even offer commission-free assets trading.

Both full-service and discount brokerages typically offer both cash and margin accounts. In a cash account, you’ll need the actual cash to buy your assets. In contrast, in a margin account, the broker will lend you some capital to make purchases, using the securities you already own as collateral.

Online Brokers

Many investors today are likely familiar with online brokerages, as there are numerous platforms that allow users to buy and sell stocks or other securities. Many of them don’t charge commissions, either. Online brokers often offer the ability to buy or sell securities, and in some cases, trade derivatives, too.

Robo-Advisors

Robo-advisors aren’t really “brokerages” per se, but more of a service that may be provided by brokers. They’re effectively highly sophisticated robot brokers — they may conduct trades automatically for users or clients, rebalancing their portfolios or allocating their money based on the investor’s risk tolerance and other factors. Some brokerages offer robo-advisory services, and some do not. In some cases, there may be humans in the mix that help with portfolio curation, but it may be a good idea to explore the specifics depending on which broker you’re thinking of using to make sure.

Pros and Cons of Using an Investment Broker

As with any financial service, there are both benefits and drawbacks to using a brokerage firm to facilitate your trades.

Pros of Using a Broker

Some of the pros of using a broker include accessibility, simplicity, and expertise.

Accessibility

Thanks to the internet, you can open a brokerage account in minutes and start trading stocks as soon as your account is funded. That means employing a financial broker is one of the easiest ways to start an investment journey as quickly as possible.

Simplicity

When you buy and sell through a broker, a lot of the tedious footwork — like keeping tabs on your interest earnings for tax purposes — is taken care of for you. Depending on the type of brokerage firm you go with, you may also have access to professional financial advice and other advisory services that could help you make the most of your portfolio.

Expertise and Guidance

Brokers are professionals, and have experience in the market. That is, they may be able to offer a helping hand at times, which may be worthwhile to new or beginning investors who are still getting their sea legs.

Cons of Using a Broker

There can also be drawbacks to using a broker, such as fees and required minimums.

Fees and Commissions

Although they’ll vary based on the specifics you choose and the type of account you open, some brokers charge maintenance fees and trade fees — also known as commissions — which can eat away at your nest egg. In fact, the average stock broker commission charged by brokerage firms is usually 1% to 2% of the value of the total transaction.

That said, you can minimize your investment fees, or even eliminate them, by shopping around for brokers with the lowest costs. For example, many online brokers offer no commission trading.

Required Portfolio Minimums

Although it’s not true of every brokerage firm, some require you to keep a minimum amount of money in your account to use their services. These minimums might be $1,000 or more, which can be a barrier to entry for some beginner investors.

Potential Conflicts of Interest

It’s possible that a broker may have conflicts of interest, in that they may be a part of a broad organization or large company that has many clients. As such, they could have an interest in having investors invest in certain companies, assets, or more — and it may not even be intentional. The point is, it’s possible that these conflicts could exist, and investors should be aware of them.

How to Choose the Right Investment Broker

There’s no one way to choose the right investment broker, as it’ll largely depend on your specific needs and financial situation. That said, you can keep some general guidelines in mind when making a choice. That can include:

• What your needs are (what are you looking to trade, specifically?)

• What your financial goals are

• Any fees or commissions that the broker may charge

• Which specific products and services the broker offers

• How easy they are to work with

• How much guidance you want or need as an investor.

Different Types of Investment Accounts

Aside from deciding what type of brokerage you’d like to do business with (and how much you’re willing to pay for financial services), you’ll also need to decide what type of investment account works best for your goals.

Maybe you’re investing for a shorter-term objective, like purchasing a house, or perhaps you’re trying to ensure you’ll have a comfortable retirement. Either way, specific investment account types, or “vehicles,” are designed to help you get there.

Taxable Brokerage Account

Think of this as a default investment vehicle. It may be a good choice if you’re looking to grow wealth and want to be able to add or withdraw funds on your own terms without waiting to reach a certain age or life circumstance. However, you pay taxes on earnings, so there are no tax advantages to this type of account. If you don’t make any specific investment vehicle choices when you open your brokerage account, this is most likely the one you’re getting.

Individual Retirement Account (IRA)

An individual retirement account, or IRA, is a type of investment account designed specifically for retirement goals and is available to self-employed people and those working for a company. IRAs carry specific tax incentives; for example, contributions to traditional IRAs are deductible. While Roth IRAs allow for tax-free distributions. However, you can’t access the funds without paying a penalty until you reach age 59 ½ or meet certain circumstantial requirements, such as purchasing your first home.

Roth IRA

Roth IRAs are similar to traditional IRAs, with the key difference being that contributions are made with after-tax dollars, meaning that the money in them can be withdrawn tax-free. As such, there may be some advantages for investors to use a Roth IRA versus a traditional IRA, though it may be best to confer with a financial professional to get a sense of which may be a better investment vehicle given your situation.

401(k) Accounts

There are also 401(k) accounts, which are employer-sponsored retirement plans that are similar to IRAs, in some ways. Employees can contribute a portion of their paychecks to a 401(k), and some employers will even match their contributions up to a certain percentage. There may be tax advantages, too.

Regulations for Investment Brokers

Investment brokers need to abide by some rules, most notably, those set forth by regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and FINRA.

FINRA and SEC Oversight

Investment brokers are regulated by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Brokers must register with FINRA, and they are required to follow a standard of conduct known as the suitability rule. Under this rule, brokers need to have suitable grounds for recommending particular investments to clients.
Brokers also need to register with the SEC, which oversees regulatory efforts for the industry.

Fiduciary Responsibility

Brokers also have a fiduciary responsibility, which means they are required to act in their client’s best interest. So, if a broker can talk a client into buying a bunch of assets, which may be to their detriment, while raking in commission fees, they could find themselves in trouble.

Alternatives to Investing With a Broker

Although using a broker to invest in the stock market might be a smart money move for some, there are other ways to get started with investing, including the following options.

Recommended: Buying Stocks Without a Broker

Automated Investing

Automated investment products, or robo-advisors, are platforms that utilize a combination of computer algorithms and human financial planners to create and manage diversified portfolios at low costs to users.

Your funds will be invested in a diversified portfolio, and the platform typically offers goal-planning tools and rebalancing services to help keep your funds moving in the right direction.

If you don’t want to pay the high prices for a full-service broker, but self-managing your portfolio makes you more than a little nervous, a robo-advisor may be right for you.

Buying Stocks and Fractional Shares Directly

Depending on whose stocks you’re interested in purchasing, you may be able to buy them directly from the issuer without needing to go through a brokerage firm.

It pays to read the fine print, however: Buying stocks directly may save you money on trade commissions, but you may also be subject to proprietary fees from the company or minimum purchase amounts. And if you’re buying fractional shares (fractions of shares of stock), you need to have an investment account, such as one with an online broker or robo-adviser.

Diversifying your assets can still be helpful for investors who buy stocks directly. If all of your investments are tied up in a single company, you may not be in a great position if that company begins to falter. In contrast, if you’ve invested in several different firms and other asset classes, you will likely have a wider margin for error.

Choosing Alternative Investments

Although the stock market is one of the most popular ways to invest, there are plenty of other ways to try turning your money into more money.

You might consider exploring alternative investments. For example, you could invest in real estate and sell the property at a profit or turn a condo into a passive income source by putting it up for rent. Or you might invest in art; the value of paintings is not necessarily correlated with the behavior of the stock market, giving it the potential to rise even during a stock market crash.

That said, many alternative investments require significantly more time, work, and know-how than crafting a diversified portfolio of stock market assets. And as always, every investment involves risk. There’s no such thing as a sure thing.

Direct Stock Purchase Plans (DSPPs)

Further, investors can check out whether they can participate in a direct stock purchase plan, or DSPP, which allows investors to buy stock directly from the stock-issuing entity. This way, investors don’t need to deal with a broker at all, they can go directly to the source and purchase stock.

The Future of Investment Brokerage

What does the future hold for investment brokers? Nobody knows for sure, but it’s likely that the entire field will evolve in the coming years, as much of the financial space has. Technology keeps evolving and rapidly changing, and the introduction of artificial intelligence and perhaps, in the future, quantum computing capabilities, may give investors new abilities that were unimaginable a few years ago.

We’re not sure exactly what that will look like, but it’s likely a safe bet that the field will continue to see rapid change

The Takeaway

If you’ve decided stock market investments are the right move for you and your money, going through a broker can be a relatively simple and low-cost way to gain access to the market. However, if you’d rather avoid potential downsides, like fees or required account minimums, you may want to consider the option to invest directly. The choice is yours.

Invest in what matters most to you with SoFi Active Invest. In a self-directed account provided by SoFi Securities, you can trade stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, alternative funds, options, and more — all while paying $0 commission on every trade. Other fees may apply. Whether you want to trade after-hours or manage your portfolio using real-time stock insights and analyst ratings, you can invest your way in SoFi's easy-to-use mobile app.

Invest with as little as $5 with a SoFi Active Investing account.

FAQ

What is the role of a stock broker?

A stock broker is a financial professional who buys and sells stocks on behalf of clients. A broker generally earns a fee or commission for their services.

How do brokers make money?

Brokers typically work on commission. The average stock broker commission is usually 1% to 2% of the value of the total transaction.

Why do people use brokers?

People use brokers to help them buy and sell stocks and bonds. For many individuals, using a broker is the easiest way to start investing.

How much money do I need to start investing with a broker?

How much you need to start investing with a broker depends on the specific broker or brokerage. Some may not have minimum amounts, while others may have relatively large or high balance requirements.

Are online brokers safe to use?

While there’s no guarantees in the financial world, and there’s certainly nothing that’s “safe,” most brokers are relatively low-risk, so long as they abide by regulatory standards and are registered with the proper authorities. That said, it may be a good idea to do some research before signing up.

Can I switch brokers easily if I’m not satisfied?

Yes, you can open up new or different brokerage accounts with other brokers.

Third-Party Brand Mentions: No brands, products, or companies mentioned are affiliated with SoFi, nor do they endorse or sponsor this article. Third-party trademarks referenced herein are property of their respective owners.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE

Mar

2025

What Is a Stag in the Stock Market?

By Rebecca Lake | Growing Wealth, invest, Investing | Comments Off

A stag is an investor who engages in speculative trading activity. When discussing a stag in stock market terms, you’re using a slang term to talk about day traders who buy and sell securities with a goal of reaping short-term profits.

Stags base their trading strategies around current market movements, relying on technical analysis to help them identify trends, with a focus on initial public offerings (IPOs). That sets them apart from bull and bear speculators, who take a longer view of the market when anticipating price movements.

Stag Definition

Stag isn’t an acronym for anything; instead, it’s a slang term used to describe investors who engage in short-term, speculative trading. Stags aim to benefit from short-term price movements by buying low and selling high. They can trade different types of securities and employ different strategies, either bullish or bearish, in executing trades to achieve maximum profit.

Stags and Market Speculation

To understand stag in stock market terms, it’s helpful to look at the difference between investing and speculation. Investing typically means putting money into the market in the hopes of seeing a long-term result, usually capital appreciation. For example, an investor may purchase 100 shares of a value stock in the hope that those shares will have increased in price by the time they’re ready to sell them 10, 20 or 30 years down the road.

Speculation is different. Investors who engage in market speculation, including stags, focus more on what’s happening in the short term and how they can leverage those trends when trading. Stags will generally accept a higher degree of investment risk in order to turn a profit within a fairly short time frame. They use technical analysis, rather than fundamental analysis, to help them make educated guesses about which way a security is most likely to move.

Is a Stag a Day Trader?

Investors who follow a day trading strategy buy and sell securities to capitalize on large or small price movements throughout the day. For example, they may buy 100 shares of XYZ stock in the morning and sell those shares in the afternoon before the trading day closes. Some day traders may buy and sell the same stock minutes or even seconds apart in order to lock in profits from fluctuating prices.

Following that line of thought, a stag could be considered to be a type of day trader. Both stags and day traders typically require a sizable amount of capital in order to execute trades aimed at making a short-term profit. They also have to be relatively savvy when it comes to using online brokerage platforms to buy and sell securities. And, of course, they have to be willing to accept the risk that goes along with engaging in speculative day trading.

The stag meaning in the stock market isn’t limited to retail investors, however. Institutional investors can also fall under the stag umbrella if they engage in speculative trading activity. Institutional day traders can work with different financial institutions such as private equity funds and hedge funds to execute speculative trades on their behalf.

💡 Quick Tip: Are self-directed brokerage accounts cost efficient? They can be, because they offer the convenience of being able to buy stocks online without using a traditional full-service broker (and the typical broker fees).

Understanding Stag Trading Strategies

Stag investing revolves around active trading strategies and there are different approaches an investor may take in their efforts to secure short term stock profits. The goal with active trading is to beat the market’s performance whenever possible. Stag investors approach that goal by paying attention to market trends and momentum.

For example, if a security’s price is steadily trending upward a stag investor may speculate as to whether that trend will continue or whether a pullback might happen. If the security’s price drops, the investor may choose to buy shares if they believe that the price will rebound and they can sell those shares at a profit later. They can employ a similar strategy with stocks that are in decline already, if they believe that a price reversal lies ahead.

A stag investor may use a stacking strategy to maximize profits. Stack meaning in stock market terms can refer to different things but when discussing day trading, it means aligning trades to move in the same direction. Assuming the investor’s guess about a security’s price movement proves correct, this strategy could help them to multiply profits.

Stag traders may study stock trading charts in order to identify points of support and points of resistance when tracking price movements. They may be looking for signs that a stock is approaching a breakout, which could suggest a substantially higher price in the future. Stock charts can also be useful for telling a stag investor whether a security’s trading volume is moving bearish or bullish, which can hint at which way prices are likely to move in the near term.

Differences Between Stags, Bulls, and Bears

Stags, bulls, and bears are all different animals, so to speak, when it comes to trading. While stag investors focus primarily on the short term, bull and bear speculators take a longer view of the markets.

Bullish speculators are banking on a rise in stock prices over time. So they may buy securities with the expectation that they can turn around and sell them at a higher price. Bearish speculators, on the other hand, have a more pessimistic outlook in that they expect prices to drop. They may sell off short positions in stocks in anticipation of being able to buy those same securities later at a lower price.

Stag investors can act bullish or bearish in their approach to trading, depending on the overall mood of the market. They may even change from bullish to bearish and back again several times over the course of the same trading day as stock prices rise and fall. Again, that’s not unusual considering the short-term nature of stag trading versus the longer outlook assumed by bull and bear traders.

Do Stags Trade IPO Stocks?

An initial public offering, or IPO, marks the first time a company makes its shares available for trade on a public exchange. Investing in IPOs can be highly speculative, as IPO valuations don’t always align with a company’s performance once it goes public. Some highly anticipated IPOs can end up being flops while other IPOs that fly under the radar initially end up delivering better than expected results to investors.

Stag investors may buy IPO stocks if they believe there’s an opportunity to capitalize on volatility in price movements during the first day or first few days of trading. The challenge with IPO investing is that there isn’t a lengthy track record of performance for the investor to study and analyze. Since the stock hasn’t traded yet, the same technical analysis rules don’t apply.

That means stag investors who are interested in IPOs must do a certain amount of homework beforehand. Specifically, they have to study the financial statements and documents released as part of the IPO process. They also have to take the temperature of the markets to get a feel for how well the company is likely to do once it goes public before deciding what type of bet they’re going to make on that stock’s debut.

IPO Flipping

Since stags typically aren’t looking for long-term positions, it’s not unusual for them to buy IPO shares then resell them in a short period of time. For example, they may buy shares of an IPO in the morning and sell before the first day of trading ends if pricing volatility works in their favor. It’s also possible for stag traders to buy into an IPO before the company begins trading on an exchange, then sell their holdings once trading opens.

This practice is referred to as IPO flipping and it works similar to house flipping, in that the investor seeks to buy low and sell high quickly. Flipping IPO stocks isn’t an illegal practice as far as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is concerned, though it is generally frowned upon.

Brokerage platforms can enforce an IPO flipping policy that outlines what investors are and aren’t allowed to do in order to discourage this practice. For example, SoFi’s flipping policy may impose limits on future IPO investments and/or fees for traders who are identified as flippers.

Stag Trading Strategy Example

Here’s a simple example of how a stag trading strategy might work.

Say a new company is set to launch its IPO with an expected valuation of $35 per share. After studying the company’s financials and market expectations for the launch, a stag investor decides to buy 1,000 shares of the stock 10 minutes after trading opens. Within an hour of the company going public, investor demand pushes the stock’s price up to $45 per share.

At this point, the stag trader could sell and collect a $10 profit per share, less any commission fees their brokerage charges. But they have a hunch the price may climb even higher before the trading day is done so they hold onto their shares. By 3 pm the stock’s price has climbed to $52 per share, at which point the trader decides to sell.

Of course, this example could have gone the other way. It’s not uncommon for an IPO to open trading at a higher price point and drop throughout the day. If the investor’s hunch had proven wrong and the price dropped to $25 per share, they would have had to decide whether to cut their losses or carry over their position for another trading day to see if the price might turn around.

💡 Quick Tip: How do you decide if a certain trading platform or app is right for you? Ideally, the investment platform you choose offers the features that you need for your investment goals or strategy, e.g., an easy-to-use interface, data analysis, educational tools.

The Takeaway

Stag trading is a term used to describe investors who engage in short-term, speculative trading, and stags aim to benefit from short-term price movements by buying low and selling high. This is common when a company issues stock through an IPO, which may allow an opening for a stag to generate quick returns.

IPO investing can be attractive if you’re hoping to get in on the ground floor of an up-and-coming company. You may also be interested in IPO flipping if you’re an active day trader. Given that this is all fairly advanced, it may be best to speak with a financial professional before trying it for yourself.

Opening and funding an Active Invest account gives you the opportunity to get up to $1,000 in the stock of your choice.¹

About the author

Rebecca Lake

Rebecca Lake has been a finance writer for nearly a decade, specializing in personal finance, investing, and small business. She is a contributor at Forbes Advisor, SmartAsset, Investopedia, The Balance, MyBankTracker, MoneyRates and CreditCards.com. Read full bio.

Photo credit: iStock/AleksandarGeorgiev

INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE

Mar

2025

What Does Bullish and Bearish Mean in Investing?

By Paulina Likos | Growing Wealth, invest, Investing, Terminology | Comments Off

Markets are often described as being either bullish vs. bearish. These are common terms used to refer to how a market is performing over a shorter or longer period of time. Investors can also be bullish or bearish on a specific stock, a sector, an asset class, or on the economy in general.

Read on to learn more about the definitions of bearish vs. bullish, where the terms bullish and bearish come from, and the bullish and bearish meaning for investors in stocks or other markets.

Key Points

• A bull market features rising stock prices and high investor confidence.

• Bear markets are generally marked by a 20% drop in stock prices and sustained low investor confidence.

• Investor behavior in bull markets includes increased buying and holding of stocks.

• In bear markets, investors tend to move to safer investments and may sell assets.

• Diversifying investments and dollar cost averaging may help manage risks in bear and bull markets.

What Does Bullish Mean?

Bullish refers to stock market sentiment that the direction of the overall market will go up. A market that is increasing in value over a long period of time is said to be in a bull market. A bullish trend means that there may be an upward trend in prices for an asset.

For investors, being bullish means they feel positive about a stock, index, or the overall stock market. For example, if an investor says they are bullish on Stock X, the investor expects the market value of Stock X to increase in the long-term. That bullishness may even compel the investor to buy more shares of the company.

A bullish market is generally one where prices go up by 20% from a previous low for a sustained period.

What Does Bearish Mean?

Bearish refers to a sentiment that the direction of securities or the overall market will move down in price. An investor characterized as a bear believes the stock market will decrease in value, even if current prices are going up. An investor investing in a bearish market may even sell shares of their portfolio if they believe the market will turn negative.

A bear market is one that has fallen 20% from recent highs and remains below that threshold for at least two months. Since investors are bearish during this period, there may be lower trading activity.

Where Do the Terms Bullish and Bearish Come From?

While there are several theories as to the origins of bullish vs. bearish. The consensus believes the difference between bullish and bearish reflects the way each animal responds when they attack. When a bull goes into attack mode, it races at its target with confidence. In a bull market, investors are confident that stock prices will rise and correspondingly, the value of the market will trend upward.

When bears attack, they swipe their paws in a downward motion and often in fear. That is why in a bear market, prices drop. When investors are bearish, they do not have confidence in stocks and usually end up selling off some of their investments.

How Bullish Markets Can Impact Investors

In a bull market, demand is greater than supply. There are many investors who want to buy stocks while only a few are willing to sell. Bullish traders tend to have long positions in stocks or other assets.

How Bearish Markets Can Impact Investors

In a bear market, supply is greater than demand — and investors may look to offload their shares when there is not a lot of demand for market participants to buy. As a result, share prices decrease. A bear market is challenging for investors because stock prices keep falling, and that means more losses in an investment portfolio.

Your first instinct may be to sell in a bear market, but to increase chances of securing a profit in the long-term, it may make more sense to remain invested. Bear markets do not last forever.

Still, some investors prefer to adjust their investments in a bear market, turning to defensive stocks like consumer staples, healthcare, or utilities. They also may consider going into safer investments like bonds that offer stable fixed-income.

Bear markets can also present a good buying opportunity for investors who use dollar-cost averaging. This involves investing a fixed amount of money consistently. This way, investors can purchase stocks at a more affordable price.

Tips on Withstanding Bullish vs Bearish Markets

One of the best investing strategies during a bull or bear market is diversification. Diversifying your investment portfolio with different securities in a variety of different industries — along with various asset classes that may fare better in bear vs. bull markets — can help protect a portfolio by potentially minimizing losses and maximizing gains over the long-term.

Diversification means buying shares of companies in different sectors and companies of different sizes, rather than just investing in a select few of stocks, and also investing in different types of assets, such as low-risk bonds as well as stocks.

Stock Market

Investors who are not sure how to pick individual stocks can purchase an exchange-traded fund (ETF) or index fund, which are pre-selected baskets of securities all in one investment vehicle. For example, investors who own a fund that follows the S&P 500 will see their investments perform in line with that index.

In an ETF, investors own hundreds of companies, which means they don’t need to painstakingly choose one or two companies, rather, they own the entire index. Investing in these types of securities may be a strategy that utilizes diversification principles to help protect value.

The Takeaway

A market doesn’t necessarily have to be either bearish or bullish. It can actually be neither. The stock market can be in a state that is relatively flat. This may mean there are normal market fluctuations leading to either small gains or small losses.

Even if markets experience a sharp decline or rise in the short-term, this still cannot be defined as bearish or bullish because bull and bear markets are maintained over a period of time.

Opening and funding an Active Invest account gives you the opportunity to get up to $1,000 in the stock of your choice.¹

FAQ

Does being bearish mean that you want to sell your assets?

“Bearish” means general pessimism about the direction of the market. In some cases, people are not even aware of a bear market until it’s over because it’s difficult to predict the direction of the markets. Investors who are invested for the long run do not pay attention to the peaks and troughs of the market and may take a dollar-cost averaging approach by investing consistently over time in both bear and bull markets.

How can you tell if a market is bearish or bullish?

Predicting and timing the markets is a challenging task. However, if stock prices have fallen by more than 20% from their recent peaks, and remained there for more than two months, that’s typically considered a bear market. A sustained increase in prices is a bull market.

Photo credit: iStock/NoSystem images

INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE

SOIN-Q125-090

Mar

2025

5 Investment Opportunities to Consider in 2025

By Samuel Becker | Growing Wealth, invest, Investing | Comments Off

Investment opportunities are different ways to put your money to work, and they can include any number of things, such as buying assets and waiting for them to appreciate, or investing in real estate or a business opportunity.

There are varying degrees of risks and potential rewards with each option, but if you’re looking to put your money to work this year, you may want to consider a range of ideas. Every idea needs to be vetted, of course, and it’s important to do your due diligence before investing. Only you can decide which opportunities make sense, given your goals and long-term plans.

Key Points

• Investment opportunities may include buying assets, investing in real estate, or investing in a business opportunity.

• Each opportunity comes with varying degrees of risk and potential rewards.

• Examples of investment opportunities may include bonds, real estate or REITs, ETFs and passive investing, automated investing, and investing in startups.

• Buying precious metals like gold and silver are also potential investment opportunities.

• Investors should do their due diligence and consider their goals and long-term plans before investing.

1. Bonds

Bonds are a common type of investment, and are actually debt instruments that are often used to diversify or balance the risk profile of a portfolio.

Types:

There are many different types of bonds. The most common, and generally considered to be the lowest-risk category of bonds, might be the U.S. Treasury bonds, typically called treasuries.

The Treasury regularly auctions off both short-term and long-term Treasury bonds and notes. These bonds are, generally, thought to be one of the safest investments on the market, as they’re guaranteed by the U.S. government. The only way for investors to lose their entire investment would be for the U.S. government to become insolvent, which has never occurred.

Governments are not the only entities that issue bonds. Corporations can also raise money by offering corporate bonds. These types of bonds tend to be riskier, but they often pay a higher rate of interest (known as the yield).

Benefits:

Investing in bonds is relatively low-risk compared to assets like stocks. So, it can be a conservative investment strategy, designed to seek a small-but-safe return.

Governments, municipalities, and companies issue bonds to investors who lend them money for a set period of time. In exchange, the issuer pays interest over the life of the loan, and returns the principal when the bond “matures.” Individuals can buy them on bond markets or on exchanges.

Upon maturity, the bond-holder gets their original investment (known as the principal) back in full. In other words, a bond is a loan, with the investor loaning another party money, in exchange for interest payments for a set period of time.

Risks and Challenges:

Bonds generally don’t generate returns like stocks or other assets do. So, investors may want to temper their expectations. Aside from that, bonds also have risks, including that the issuer could default, changes to interest rates can affect their values.

How to Get Started:

Investors can purchase bonds through their brokerage account, or even directly from issuers, in some cases. For example, it’s possible to buy Treasury bonds directly from the U.S. government.

2. Real Estate or REITs

Real estate is the largest asset class in the world, with a market cap well into the hundreds of trillions of dollars. Accordingly, there are a lot of opportunities for investors to add real estate, in some form, to their portfolio.

Types of Real Estate Investments:

When thinking about investing in real estate, residential properties may be one of the first things that comes to mind, such as buying a single family home. But owning property, like a home, can come with an array of responsibilities, liabilities, and expenses. In that way, it’s different from owning a stock or bond.

Generally, real estate investments take the form of actual real estate — such as a home, apartment building, or commercial property — or through shares of REITs, which are real estate investment trusts. These are similar to “real estate ETFs,” in a way.

REITs are popular among passive-income investors, as they tend to have high dividend yields because they are required by law to pass on 90% of their amount of their income to shareholders.

Historically, REITs have often provided better returns than fixed-income assets like bonds, although REITs do tend to be higher-risk investments.

There are many different types of REITs. Some examples of the types of properties that different REITs might specialize in include:

◦ Residential real estate

◦ Data centers

◦ Commercial real estate

◦ Health care

Benefits:

Real estate tends to appreciate over time, but there are many factors that can affect property values. REITs can also allow investors to gain exposure to the real estate world without the hassle and liability of owning physical property, though they do come with risks.

Risks and Challenges:

For people with smaller amounts of capital, investing in physical real estate might not be a realistic or desirable option — first and foremost. Annual property taxes, maintenance and upkeep, and paying back mortgage interest can add to the cost of treating a home as an investment. It’s also worth remembering that residential properties can appreciate or depreciate in value, too.

Other real-estate investment options involve owning multi-family rental properties (like apartment buildings or duplexes), commercial properties like shopping malls, or office buildings. These tend to require large initial investments, but those who own them could potentially see significant returns from rental income. (Naturally, few investments guarantee returns and rental demands and pricing can change over time).

As for REITs, these have certain pros and cons, like other investments, and generally are high-risk investments. But companies can be classified as REITs if they derive at least 75% of their income from the operation, maintenance, or mortgaging of real estate. Additionally, 75% of a REITs assets must also be held in the form of real property or loans directly tied to them. So, there may need to be some research before an investment is made.

How to Get Started:

Shares of a REIT can be purchased and held in a brokerage account, just like a stock or ETF. To buy some, it’s often as simple as looking up a specific REIT’s ticker symbol.

Buying real property is a much more complicated process, and speaking with a real estate agent might be a good place to start — not to mention a financial professional.

3. ETFs and Passive Investing

Passive investing, which refers to exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, and other instruments that track an index and do not have an active manager, have become increasingly popular over the years.

Weighing the merits of passive vs. active investing is an ongoing debate, with strong advocates on both sides.

Types:

Passive investing tends to be lower cost compared with active investing, and over time these strategies tend to do well. Passive investing can include buying ETFs or index funds, or even mutual funds.

An ETF is a security that usually tracks a specific industry or index by investing in a number of stocks or other financial instruments.

ETFs are commonly referred to as one type of passive investing, because most ETFs track an index. Some ETFs are actively managed, but most are not.

These days, there are ETFs for just about everything — no matter your investing goal, interest area, or industry you wish you invest in. Small-cap stocks, large-cap stocks, international stocks, short-term bonds, long-term bonds, corporate bonds, and more.

Benefits:

Some potential advantages of ETFs include lower costs and built-in diversification. Rather than having to pick and choose different stocks, investors can choose shares of a single ETF to buy, gaining some level of ownership in the fund’s underlying assets.

Thus, investing in ETFs could make the process of buying into different investments easier, while potentially increasing portfolio diversification (i.e., investing in distinct types of assets in order to manage risk).

Overall the biggest advantage to passive investing is that it’s hands-off, and as such, relatively cheaper (in terms of saving on fees and commissions) compared to an active approach.

Risks and Challenges:

Specific ETFs or funds may have their own risks — those risks will largely depend on the securities, industries, or other factors contained within each one. But in a more broad sense, if there is a challenge or downside to a passive investment strategy, it may be that there’s the possibility of missing out on appreciation within specific stocks or assets.

That said, passive investing is supposed to be a relatively low-risk approach, but it’s not risk-free.

How to Get Started:

Perhaps the simplest way to start passive investing is to buy ETFs or index funds through your brokerage account. It can be that simple.

4. Automated Investing

Another form of investing involves automated portfolios called robo advisors, as well as target-date mutual funds, which are often used in retirement planning.

Types:

Automated investing often incorporates a “robo-advisor” to handle the heavy lifting. Typically, a robo advisor is an online investment service that provides you with a questionnaire so you can input your preferences: e.g. your financial goals, your personal risk tolerance, and time horizon. Using these parameters, as well as investing best practices, the robo advisor employs a sophisticated algorithm to recommend a portfolio that suits your goals.

These automated portfolios are pre-set, and they can tilt toward an aggressive allocation or a conservative one, or something in between. Typically, these portfolios are built of low-cost exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These online portfolios are designed to rebalance over time, using technology and artificial intelligence to do so.

You can use a robo investing as you would any account — for retirement, as a taxable investment account, or even for your emergency fund — and you typically invest using automatic deposits or contributions.

Some investors may also use a target-date fund to automate their investing. Target-date mutual funds, which are a type of mutual fund often used for retirement planning and college savings, also use technology to automate a certain asset allocation over time.

By starting out with a more aggressive allocation and slowly dialing back as years pass, the fund’s underlying portfolio may be able to deliver growth while minimizing risk. This ready-made type of fund can be appealing to those who have a big goal (like retirement or saving for college), and who don’t want the uncertainty or potential risk of managing their money on their own.

Benefits:

The biggest benefit of automated investing is that it’s, well, automated! It’s a hands-off approach, which means you don’t need to worry about what’s happening with your portfolio on a day to day basis – though it can still be wise to monitor regularly. Again, if you want to take a set-it-and-forget-it approach to investing, this may be worth checking out.

Risks and Challenges:

Some investors may not like handing the reins off to an algorithm or robo-advisor. Accordingly, the approach may oversimplify your portfolio, costing you potential gains (or avoiding losses). And, of course, technology isn’t perfect, so it’s possible that there could be a glitch in a system somewhere, and other cybersecurity risks in the mix.

How to Get Started:

There are numerous robo-advisors on the market — check some of them out, do a bit of research, and choose one. You can also look at specific target-date mutual funds that could be a good fit, and start investing in those.

5. Gold and Silver

Investing in precious metals is another way to put your money to work.

Types:

Gold is one of the most valued commodities. For thousands of years, gold has been prized because it is scarce, difficult to obtain, has many practical uses, and does not rust, tarnish, or erode.

Silver has historically held a secondary role to gold, and today, serves more of an industrial role. For those looking to invest in physical precious metals, silver will be a relatively affordable option.

Benefits:

Gold, silver, and related securities are sometimes considered to be “safe havens,” meaning most investors perceive them as low risk. This asset class tends to perform well during times of crisis (and conversely tends to drop when the economy is going well), but past trends don’t guarantee that gold will perform one way or the other.

Risks and Challenges:

Precious metals are volatile, and the industry itself is volatile as well. Also, for investors who are buying physical precious metals, they may face a challenge in storing them and keeping them safe from thieves. You may need to even get insurance on physical assets, or add them to an existing insurance policy.

How to Get Started:

Buying physical gold or bullion (which comes in coins and bars) isn’t the only way to invest in gold and silver. There are many related securities that allow investors to gain exposure to precious metals. There are ETFs that tend to track the prices of gold and silver, respectively. Other ETFs provide an easy vehicle for investing in gold and silver mining stocks. So, there are some different ways to invest in the field.

Companies that explore for and mine silver and gold tend to see their share prices increase in tandem with prices for the physical metals.

The Takeaway

The investment opportunities described above are just some potential points of entry for investors in 2025. Investors can look to the stock, bond, or crypto markets for new ways to put their money to work, or consider active strategies vs. passive (i.e. index) strategies. They can look at commodities, like precious metals, or automated portfolios.

All these investment opportunities come with their own set of potential risks and rewards. There are no guarantees that choosing X over Y will increase your investment returns. It’s up to each investor to weigh these options, especially in light of current economic trends, such as inflation and rising rates.

Opening and funding an Active Invest account gives you the opportunity to get up to $1,000 in the stock of your choice.¹

FAQ

What is the most popular thing to invest in right now?

Stocks, bonds, and ETFs tend to be among the most popular investments at any given time, though the specific popularity among those classes can vary wildly.

What are some of the best investment opportunities for beginners?

For beginning investors, investing in ETFs, index funds, or mutual funds may be a simple way to get started. Those assets will give investors exposure to broad parts of the market.

What are the lowest risk investment opportunities?

Generally, the investment with the lowest risks are Treasuries, but even those are not risk-free. Bonds tend to be less risky than stocks, too.

What are the highest risk investment opportunities?

There are many high-risk investments out there, including cryptocurrencies, certain stocks, REITs, and even venture capital all have a relatively high risk compared to, say, Treasuries.

INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE

SoFi Invest is a trade name used by SoFi Wealth LLC and SoFi Securities LLC offering investment products and services. Robo investing and advisory services are provided by SoFi Wealth LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Brokerage and self-directed investing products offered through SoFi Securities LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC.

For disclosures on SoFi Invest platforms visit SoFi.com/legal. For a full listing of the fees associated with Sofi Invest please view our fee schedule.

Financial Tips & Strategies: The tips provided on this website are of a general nature and do not take into account your specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. You should always consider their appropriateness given your own circumstances.

¹Probability of Member receiving $1,000 is a probability of 0.026%; If you don’t make a selection in 45 days, you’ll no longer qualify for the promo. Customer must fund their account with a minimum of $50.00 to qualify. Probability percentage is subject to decrease. See full terms and conditions.
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs): Investors should carefully consider the information contained in the prospectus, which contains the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other relevant information. You may obtain a prospectus from the Fund company’s website or by emailing customer service at [email protected]. Please read the prospectus carefully prior to investing.

Investment Risk: Diversification can help reduce some investment risk. It cannot guarantee profit, or fully protect in a down market.

Mutual Funds (MFs): Investors should carefully consider the information contained in the prospectus, which contains the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, expenses, and other relevant information. You may obtain a prospectus from the Fund company’s website or clicking the prospectus link on the fund's respective page at sofi.com. You may also contact customer service at: 1.855.456.7634. Please read the prospectus carefully prior to investing.Mutual Funds must be bought and sold at NAV (Net Asset Value); unless otherwise noted in the prospectus, trades are only done once per day after the markets close. Investment returns are subject to risk, include the risk of loss. Shares may be worth more or less their original value when redeemed. The diversification of a mutual fund will not protect against loss. A mutual fund may not achieve its stated investment objective. Rebalancing and other activities within the fund may be subject to tax consequences.

SOIN-Q125-074

Mar

2025

What Is the Rule of 55? How It Works for Early Retirement

By Rebecca Lake | Growing Wealth, invest, Investing | Comments Off

The rule of 55 is a provision in the Internal Revenue Code that allows workers to withdraw money from their employer-sponsored retirement plan without a penalty once they reach age 55. Distributions are still taxable as income but there’s no additional 10% early withdrawal penalty.

The IRS rule of 55 applies to 401(k) and 403(b) plans. If you have either of these types of retirement accounts through your employer, it’s important to understand how this rule works when taking retirement plan distributions.

Key Points

• The rule of 55 allows penalty-free withdrawals from employer-sponsored retirement plans for individuals aged 55 or older.

• This rule applies to 401(k) and 403(b) plans, allowing early access to retirement funds without the usual 10% penalty.

• To qualify, individuals must have separated from their employer at age 55 or older and leave the funds in the employer’s plan.

• The rule of 55 does not apply to IRAs, and certain conditions and restrictions may vary depending on the specific retirement plan.

• While the rule of 55 can be beneficial for early retirees, it’s important to consider tax implications and other factors before utilizing it.

What Is the Rule of 55?

The rule of 55 is an exception to standard IRS withdrawal rules for qualified workplace plans, including 401(k) and 403(b) plans. Normally, you can’t withdraw money from these plans before age 59 ½ without paying a 10% early withdrawal penalty. This penalty is only waived for certain allowed exceptions, of which the rule of 55 is one.

Specifically, the rule of 55 applies to “distributions made to you after you separated from service with your employer after attainment of age 55,” per the IRS. It doesn’t matter whether you quit, get laid off or retired — you can still withdraw money from your retirement plan penalty-free. If you’re a qualified public safety employee, this exception kicks in at age 50 instead of 55.

💡 Quick Tip: Before opening an investment account, know your investment objectives, time horizon, and risk tolerance. These fundamentals will help keep your strategy on track and with the aim of meeting your goals.

How Does the Rule of 55 Work?

The rule of 55 for 401(k) and 403(b) plans allows workers to access money in their retirement plans without a 10% early withdrawal penalty. This rule applies to current workplace retirement plans only.

You can’t use the rule of 55 to take money from a 401(k) or 401(b) you had with a previous employer penalty-free unless you first roll over those account balances into your current plan before separating from service.

This rule doesn’t apply to individual retirement accounts (IRA) either. So, you can’t use the rule of 55 to tap into an IRA before age 59 ½ without a tax penalty. There are, however, some exclusions that might allow you to do so. For example, you could take money penalty-free from an IRA if you’re using it for the purchase of a first home.

Rule of 55 Requirements

To qualify for a rule of 55 401(k) or 403(b) withdrawal, you’ll need to:

• Be age 55 or older

• Separate from your employer at age 55 or older

• Leave the money in your employer’s plan (rule of 55 benefits are lost if you roll funds over to an IRA)

You also need to have a 401(k) or 403(b) plan that allows for rule of 55 withdrawals. If your plan doesn’t permit early withdrawals before age 59 ½ , then you won’t be able to take advantage of this rule.

Also keep in mind that IRS rules require a 20% tax withholding on early withdrawals from a 401(k) or similar plan. This applies even if you plan to roll the money over later to another qualified plan or IRA. So you’ll need to consider how that withholding will affect what you receive from the plan and how much you may still owe in taxes on your 401(k) later when reporting the distribution on your return.

Example of the Rule of 55

Here’s how the rule of 55 works. Say you lose your job or decide to retire early at age 55, and you need money to help pay your bills and cover lifestyle expenses. Under the rule of 55, you can take distributions from the 401(k) or 403(b) plan you were contributing to up until the time you left your job. You will not be charged the typical 10% early withdrawal penalty in this instance.

Also worth noting: If you decide to go back to work a year or two later at age 56 or 57, say, you can still continue to take distributions from that same 401(k) or 403(b) plan, as long as you have not rolled it over into another employer-sponsored plan or IRA.

Should You Use the Rule of 55?

The IRS rule of 55 is designed to benefit people who may need or want to withdraw money from their retirement plan early for a variety of reasons. For example, you might consider using this rule if you:

• Decide to retire early and need your 401(k) to close the income gap until you’re eligible for Social Security benefits

• Are taking time away from work to act as a caregiver for a spouse or family member and need money from your retirement plan to cover basic living expenses

• Want to take some of the money in your 401(k) early to help minimize required minimum distributions (RMDs) later

In those scenarios, it could make sense to apply the rule of 55 in order to access your retirement savings penalty-free. On the other hand, there are some situations where you may be better off letting the money in your employer’s plan continue to grow.

For instance, if your employer’s plan requires you to take a lump sum payment, this could push you into a substantially higher tax bracket. Having to pay taxes on all of the money at once could diminish your account balance more so than spreading out distributions — and the associated tax liability — over a longer period of time.

You may also reconsider taking money from your 401(k) early if you still plan to work in some capacity. If you have income from a new full-time job or part-time job, for instance, you may not need to withdraw funds from your 401(k) at all. But if you change your mind later and decide to return to work, you can continue to take withdrawals from the same retirement plan penalty-free.

Other Ways to Withdraw From a 401(k) Penalty-Free

Aside from the rule of 55, there are other exceptions that could allow you to take money from your 401(k) penalty-free. The IRS allows you to do so if you:

• Reach age 59 ½

• Pass away (for distributions made to your plan beneficiary)

• Become totally and permanently disabled

• Need the money to pay for unreimbursed medical expenses exceeding 10% of your adjusted gross income (AGI)

• Need the money to pay health insurance premiums while unemployed

• Are a qualified reservist called to active duty

You can also avoid the 10% early withdrawal penalty by taking a series of substantially equal periodic payments. This IRS rule allows you to sidestep the penalty if you agree to take a series of equal payments based on your life expectancy. You must separate from service with the employer that maintains your 401(k) in order to be eligible under this rule. Additionally, you must commit to taking the payment amount that’s required by the IRS for a minimum of five years or until you reach age 59 ½, whichever occurs first.

A 401(k) loan might be another option for withdrawing money from your retirement account without a tax penalty. You might consider this if you’re not planning to retire but need to take money from your retirement plan.

With a 401(k) loan, you’ll have to pay the money back with interest. Your employer may stop you from making new contributions to the plan until the loan is repaid, generally over a five-year term. If you leave your job where you have your 401(k) before the loan is repaid, any remaining amount becomes payable in full. If you can’t pay the loan off, the whole amount is treated as a taxable distribution and the 10% early withdrawal penalty also may apply if you’re under age 59 ½.

The Takeaway

Early retirement may be one of your financial goals, and achieving it requires some planning. Maxing out your 401(k) or 403(b) can help you save the money you’ll need to retire early, and you may be able to access the funds early with the rule of 55.

You may also consider investing in an IRA or a taxable brokerage account to save for retirement. A brokerage account doesn’t have age restrictions, so there are no penalties for early withdrawals before age 59 ½. You’ll have to pay capital gains tax on any profits realized from selling investments, but you can allow the balances in your 401(k) or IRA to continue to grow on a tax-advantaged basis.

Prepare for your retirement with an individual retirement account (IRA). It’s easy to get started when you open a traditional or Roth IRA with SoFi. Whether you prefer a hands-on self-directed IRA through SoFi Securities or an automated robo IRA with SoFi Wealth, you can build a portfolio to help support your long-term goals while gaining access to tax-advantaged savings strategies.

Easily manage your retirement savings with a SoFi IRA.

FAQ

Can I use the rule of 55 if I get another job?

Yes, you can use the rule of 55 to keep withdrawing from your 401(k) if you get another job. As long as it’s the same 401(k) you were contributing to when you left your job and you haven’t rolled it over into an IRA or another plan, you can still continue to take distributions from it whether you get a full-time or part-time job.

How do I know if I qualify for Rule of 55?

First, find out if your employer allows for the rule 55 withdrawals. Check with your HR or benefits department. If they do, and you are 55 or older (or age 50 or older if you are a public safety worker), you should qualify for the rule of 55 and be able to take distributions from your most recent employer’s plan. You cannot take penalty-free distributions from 401(k) plans with previous employers.

How do I claim the rule of 55?

To start taking rule of 55 withdrawals, typically all you need to do is reach out to your plan’s administrator and prove that you qualify — meaning that you are age 55 or older and that you’re leaving your job.

What is the rule of 55 lump sum?

Some 401(k) plans may require you to take a lump sum payment if you are using the rule of 55. That could create a big tax liability since you will need to pay income tax on the money you withdraw. In this case you might want to explore other alternatives to the rule of 55. It may also be helpful to speak with a tax professional.

About the author

Rebecca Lake

Photo credit: iStock/bagi1998

INVESTMENTS ARE NOT FDIC INSURED • ARE NOT BANK GUARANTEED • MAY LOSE VALUE

Investment and Financial Brokers Explained

What Is an Investment Broker?

Roles and Responsibilities

Types of Brokerage Accounts

Full-service Brokers

Discount Brokerages

Online Brokers

Robo-Advisors

Pros and Cons of Using an Investment Broker

Pros of Using a Broker

Accessibility

Simplicity

Expertise and Guidance

Cons of Using a Broker

Fees and Commissions

Required Portfolio Minimums

Potential Conflicts of Interest

How to Choose the Right Investment Broker

Different Types of Investment Accounts

Taxable Brokerage Account

Individual Retirement Account (IRA)

Roth IRA

401(k) Accounts

Regulations for Investment Brokers

FINRA and SEC Oversight

Fiduciary Responsibility

Alternatives to Investing With a Broker

Automated Investing

Buying Stocks and Fractional Shares Directly

Choosing Alternative Investments

Direct Stock Purchase Plans (DSPPs)

The Future of Investment Brokerage

The Takeaway

FAQ

What is the role of a stock broker?

How do brokers make money?

Why do people use brokers?

How much money do I need to start investing with a broker?

Are online brokers safe to use?

Can I switch brokers easily if I’m not satisfied?

What Is a Stag in the Stock Market?

Stag Definition

Stags and Market Speculation

Get up to $1,000 in stock when you fund a new Active Invest account.*

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Is a Stag a Day Trader?

Understanding Stag Trading Strategies

Differences Between Stags, Bulls, and Bears

Do Stags Trade IPO Stocks?

IPO Flipping

Stag Trading Strategy Example

The Takeaway

What Does Bullish and Bearish Mean in Investing?

What Does Bullish Mean?

What Does Bearish Mean?

Where Do the Terms Bullish and Bearish Come From?

How Bullish Markets Can Impact Investors

How Bearish Markets Can Impact Investors

Tips on Withstanding Bullish vs Bearish Markets

Stock Market

The Takeaway

FAQ

Does being bearish mean that you want to sell your assets?

How can you tell if a market is bearish or bullish?

5 Investment Opportunities to Consider in 2025

1. Bonds

Types:

Benefits:

Risks and Challenges:

How to Get Started:

2. Real Estate or REITs

Types of Real Estate Investments:

Benefits:

Risks and Challenges:

How to Get Started:

Get up to $1,000 in stock when you fund a new Active Invest account.*

Access stock trading, options, alternative investments, IRAs, and more. Get started in just a few minutes.

3. ETFs and Passive Investing

Types:

Benefits:

Student Loan
Refinancing

Personal
Loans

Online
Investments