Buy Facebook Stock
Invest in Facebook in minutes, without commission, with these brokers. Compare their platforms below and click-through to their website for more information.
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Understand how to buy or sell Facebook stocks online with our step-by-step guide.
Step 1: Getting started
Before you place your first trade, you'll need to decide what it is that you are buying. You can either buy shares outright, in which case you'll become a registered shareholder, or simply profit from changes in Facebook's share price through instruments known as CFDs (or Contracts for Difference). The following table compares these alternatives side-by-side:
| Pros and cons of... buying the stock | Pros and cons of... buying a CFD on the stock |
|---|---|
Pay a commission | Trade without commission |
Pay stamp duty (UK) | No stamp duty due (UK) |
No leverage allowed | Leverage your tradesYou could take a $1,000 position with a $100 deposit by trading on margin |
Profit only in a rising market | Profit in a rising or falling marketGo long if you expect prices to rise, or short if you expect prices to fall |
Shareholding rightsDividend income, as well as the right to vote in shareholder meetings | No shareholding rights |
Shareholding obligationsRegister your ownership and declare large shareholdings | No shareholding obligationsYou are anonymous, except to your broker |
Buy Facebook stock outright
So how much money will you need to buy shares in Facebook? You'll need to cover the full purchase price - currently in excess of US$ 100 per share - and set aside money to cover your broker's dealing fees and any tax due.
- Dealing fees start at £11.95 ($15.54) with Hargreaves Lansdown and £12.95 with Barclays Stockbrokers, and are due for every buy and sell order (even when you exit your position).
- In addition, you may also need to pay tax on your purchase. In the UK, stamp duty on share purchases is 0.5% of the value of each trade.
Congratulations, you are now are an Facebook shareholder. This comes with rights and obligations. You'll be entitled to dividend income and may have the right to vote in shareholder meetings if your shares allow. In return, you'll need to register your ownership (except in the case of bearer shares), and may have a legal obligation to information the company when your holdings exceed certain thresholds of the company's share capital (although this is unlikely if you only buy a few shares).
Or trade CFDs on Facebook's stock
Alternatively, you could trade CFDs (Contract for Difference) on Facebook's stock. A CFD allows you to speculate on changes in Facebook's stock price, going long when prices rises and going short when they fall, without owning shares. This also means that you are free from the rights, obligations and taxes that come with share ownership.
CFDs are popular with investors like you because they allow you to trade on margin for a fraction of a stock's price, but see changes in the stock price fully reflected in your profit or loss. You could buy a CFD on Facebook stock valued at US$ 100 with a low US$ 10 deposit through Plus500.com, or a US$ 20 deposit through AvaTrade.com.
Most CFD brokers charge no commission. Instead, they earn a living through the bid-ask spread; that is the difference between the price at which you can buy and sell securities from them. Some brokers charge a fixed spread at all times, whilst other charge a variable spread based on market conditions. Plus500's spread on Facebook stock is just 19 cents, and AvaTrade's is just 10 cents over the market spread.
Step 2: Opening an account online
Visit Plus500.com or AvaTrade.com and open an account online. It's helpful to have a copy of proof of address and proof of identity documents at hand; as most brokers will require that you upload these documents prior to placing your first trade. If you are in a hurry to trade, we suggest funding your account through a debit card, credit card or an e-wallet (such as PayPal, Skrill or NETELLER). Bank wire transfers can be particularly slow and costly to complete.
Step 3: Placing your first trade
Placing your first trade may seem daunting, but it need not be. All brokers in our panel allow you to trade directly from their website or a smartphone app. Click a button to 'buy' and another to 'sell' (or 'short') Facebook shares directly from the charts. Nowadays, you no longer need to pick up the phone to trade through a dealing desk. Visit Plus500.com and AvaTrade.com to start trading.
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