How do I become a trader / investment banker?

I am majoring in finance and economics at NYU. I was wondering what are the steps I need to take to have a good chance at becoming an investment banker or a trader? Also what are to big differences between the two?

Pick up a few books and read up on stocks. Go for low risk, low yield stocks first since you are new at this. Read as much as you can and watch youtube videos and documentaries. If you find the topic interesting then open a brokerage account somewhere and start buying stocks. Don’t open a forex account, I know lots of ads are out there promoting forex but trust me stocks are much better and safer to start out with.

Hit amazon and look for 5 star reviews on books. It all depends on how seasoned your uncle is on the stock market so I cannot answer but here is a hint, if he is not a total noob get him this book on options:

Option Volatility & Pricing: Advanced Trading Strategies and Techniques by Sheldon Natenberg

I recommend a low fee brokerage like sogo who charge $3 a trade and also give you 100 free trades to start so make your first few trades really small ones. Trust me when you are playing small for the purpose of learning then you don’t need people charging you $10 a trade like most brokers do so sogo is good in that respect. Later if you become more seasoned you might want a fancier broker. And one last word of warning, never never buy and sell the same stock in the same day more than three times a week. It’s the PDT rule.

Comments

About Author