A ? for the stock trading gurus

[Redneck]

Supppose I have an online trading account and buy a stock one morning and then sell it later. Are the funds from that sale available to reinvest directly after the sell order is executed or is there a delay before the funds are available to be used. Thanks.

 

[Evadman]

sometimes they are sometimes not. Depends on the broker. The one I use ( buyandhold.com ) has a 4 day waiting period ( setlement period ) before you can withdrawl the money, but you can reinvest right away.

<edit>
Also, be aware if you hold the stock for a year, you get a tax break. You do not get that tax break if you sell it within 364 days.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Also (besides the higher capital gains taxes) remember you'll pay comissions both ways, buying and selling.

Sure you don't want a nice S&P500 index mutual fund? Leave it alone for 10 years and you'll likely (over time) earn 8-10% a year -- you'd have to do much better with the stock picking when you subtract comissions and taxes. Buy it through a traditional IRA (if you don't have 401k) and get big first-year growth from the tax writeoff, or get a Roth IRA and have it grow tax-free.