Hi, Garry.

GN> Somewhere in the Ether, David Young uttered this to
GN>  All about Buying SHares
GN>  DY> Hi All,

GN>  DY> I am interested in buying a small number of shares.  Can anyone tell
GN>  DY> me what is the smallest amount in $ or in quanitity that one can buy.

GN>  Hi David,
GN>          The smallest parcel of shares which can be purchased is depends
GN>  on the cost of the shares. For example:
GN>  Shares costing 1c  to 25c; the smallest marketable parcel is 2000 shares
GN>   "       "     26c to 50c;  "     "      "
    "    " 1000   "
GN>   "       "     50c to $1 ;  "     "      "
    "    "  500   "
GN>   "       "     $1.01 to $10.00;   "      "    
"    "  100   "
GN>   "       "     over $10.01;       "      "    
"    "   50   "

And all this is going out the window, soon. I think at the end of this
month. No more marketable parcels, no more odd lots, no more Odd Lot
Broker.

Another change which will occur at the same time is the step size for
orders. It will be 0.5 cents up to 25c (currently 10 cents), 1 cent
above that forever (currently 2 cents over $10).

GN>  DY> Can someone also recommend a cheap broker?

GN>  There is usually a list of stockbrokers published in the Personal
GN>  Investment magazine.  But it pays to ring around LOCALLY and check
GN>  prices.

But also check the service you're going to get. Do you have to front up
with the $ (buying) or certificates (selling) before they'll let you
trade? Can you put on an order at say $5.40 with a couple of cents
discretion if it looks like the market is moving away from you? Do you
want research, or even opinions on the stocks you're going to trade?
Will you get access to new floats? eg Giltnet which we were doing at 10
cents, listed last Monday, now 28 cents. Lehir coming up, but *they're*
as scarce as rocking horse shit.

I shout locally because if things go bad and you have a long
GN>  distance, but cheaper stockbroker, you may never get through on the
GN>  phone to place a "sell" order.  If he or she is local and
you want to
GN>  place a hurried "sell" order, you can drive there and
walk into their
GN>  premises and try to see him/her in person... If you are deperate, it
GN>  sure beats hearing constant "busy tone" on the phone.  Some may
GN>  consider this an extreme action (I do too), but it's your money you
GN>  could be losing while listening to the "busy tone' while others are
GN>  selling their stock!

Shouldn't happen at a decent place. I have 2 phones plus my mobile,
there are 14 more on my desk if I happen to be on both.

GN>  DY> PS : Is there any service where one can purchase shares
"on-line"

GN>  You can if you are a registered stockbroker... we wouldn't need
GN>  stockbrokers if we could buy our own shares (more the pity!).  But no,
GN>  I don't think there is an on-line service.  If I'm wrong, will someone
GN>  please furnish me with the details? Thanks

I believe Pont Securities offers such a service, don't know the
details/conditions/limitations though.

Regards, FIM.

 * * I live the life of Riley...when Riley isn't home.
@EOT:

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