Investing in stocks is a lucrative business providedyou have good financial practice. Earlier investing in shares was practiced with an outcry system, which means traders had to use hand signals and verbal communications to convey trading instructions. The introduction of online trading account has made investing in shares and other securities more convenient as it has eliminated brokers. The developments in technology enables the investors to now invest in equities from their computers. A trading account lets you invest in stock markets. Every account comes with a unique identification number that is used for transactions.

A trading account is basically a link between investor’s demat account and bank account. You as an investor need to place an order through your trading account if you are interested in buying a share. The instruction will then go to stock exchange for processing. In next stage the shares are credited to your demat account and the proportionate sum gets deducted from your linked bank account. The process remains same for selling equity shares.

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For selling shares, you must place a sale order through trading account. It then gets forwarded for processing in relevant stock exchange. On the order being executed, the required number of shares get debited from your account and the proportionate amount gets credited to the bank account.

Here are some ways in which you get benefitted from a trading account.

1. One-point access – You will find various exchanges in India like national Stock exchange (NSE), Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDE) and Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) that trade in different securities and commodities. You can have access to all such exchanges via a common platform using your online trading account.
2. Flexibility – The introduction of technology made the process of trading easier through computers and this was improvised further with digitalisation. Now you can carry your trading transactions like investing or tracking the investments from anywhere with trading app on your smart phone or other such device.
3. Reliable information – Investing in equity trade can be lucrative if you know the knack of taking right decisions at right time. Online trading platforms offer valuable services such as research reports made by experienced professionals that will help you make right investment decisions.
4. Customisation– There could be various reasons like technical glitch or issue in handling the trading platform for which you might feel like getting help from a trading expert. With trading account, you can avail the facility of seeking help from trained executives hired by online trading platforms. This facility is available round the clock adding to which you also receive alerts and notifications through SMS about buy and sell targets.
5. Seamless transactions – With various advanced features and convenience of carrying transactions, online trading has made the equity trading and fund transferring process a seamless experience.

Steps to open a trading account:

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1. To carry equity trading online you need an online trading account. Select a trustworthy stockbroker with good reputation and open a trading account.
2. You will be required to pay processing fee as defined by your selected broker. You can compare the brokerage rates offered by options and select accordingly.
3. You can find a brokerage firm and enquire about procedure of opening trading account.
4. After that a representative will visit your residence with account opening and Know Your Client (KYC) form. You are required to fill and submit these forms with the relevant documents mentioned in it.
5. The firm will then verify your personal details and process the application.
6. You will be then provided with your trading account details.