Finding out about stock purchasing fees

The fees related to the purchase of stocks are few and easy to understand. You’ll be required to pay some kind of commission both when you buy and when you sell stocks, probably an annual account maintenance fee (usually not very large), and small paperwork fees.

The biggest fee is the commission on purchases. Because of the competition from online discount brokers, commissions have been falling. Flat-rate charges of under $20 are starting to appear. Rates this low were unknown 10 years ago. The practice of paying commissions as high as 4 or 5% of the amount of the purchase are disappearing. Some full-service brokers negotiate commissions. Be sure to ask and be sure to take the commissions and other fees into consideration when you select your broker.