The origin of the digital financial revolution in India lies in the capital markets. The stock market shifted towards the electronic mode in 1996 ever since the introduction of the Depositories Act 1996. If you want to own securities like stocks, mutual funds, and bonds in India, you need to open a trading account.

Let's delve into what a trading account is, which is the best trading account in India to invest and how you can open one.

What is a trading account?

Trading account meaning is quite simple!

A trading account is to buy or sell equity shares in the stock market. Previously, the stock exchange wasn't this organized; traders used hand signals and verbal agreements to buy or sell. After adopting the electronic system, a trading account replaced this haphazard system.

Now, the buyers and sellers don't have to be physically present at the stock exchange to place orders; it can all be done online. You can easily open a trading account with a registered stock market broker. Every trading account uses a unique trading ID to perform online transactions.

Trading Account is Which Type of Account?

Every investor who wishes to trade in the Indian stock market needs a trading account. The trading account can be further classified into different categories.

● Equity Trading Account
Investors can trade in stocks, futures, and options via an equity trading account. However, a trading account alone is not enough to take delivery of the stocks or to subscribe to an IPO (Initial Public Offering). For this, you will need a to store shares. Although, if you are only trading in futures and options, a trading account will suffice.

● Commodity Trading Account:
Commodity trading may sound as simple as trading equities, but it is a big market part. You will require a separate account for commodity trading. However, the regulator of both accounts is SEBI; still, investors need a separate account for commodity trading.

● Online and Offline Trading Accounts:
Don't think that an offline trading account means you have to go to the exchange or the broker's office. An offline trading account means you will have to call your broker and place orders. On the other hand, online trading accounts mean trading through an application that uses the internet to relay the information to the brokerage firm.

● 2-in-1 account and 3-in-1 account:
Investors need to have 3 types of accounts- a trading account, a bank account, and a Demat account for trading in the stock markets. You need to transfer money from your bank account into the trading account. Some brokerage companies offer a 2-in-1 account that offers an integrated trading and Demat account, whereas some offer a 3-in-1 account which means an integrated 3-in-1 (Demat, Trading, and Bank) account.

● Discount and full-service trading accounts:
Discount trading accounts offer trading services without any value-added services, whereas full-service trading accounts offer value-added services such as research reports, stock suggestions, and more.

How Does a Trading Account Work?

A trading account works like a link between the Demat account and the investor's bank account. While buying shares, the investor places an order through their trading account, and then the said transaction goes for processing in the stock exchange.

Post execution, the number of shares gets credited into the investor's Demat account, and the reciprocal amount gets deducted from his/her bank account. The process for selling shares is just similar to buying.

How to Choose The Best Trading Account in India?

If you want to choose the best trading account in India, you must spend a lot of time doing thorough research.

Seek experienced investors' advice on which trading platform they use but do not trust them blindly because their objectives will be different than yours. Try to get a general idea about the trading account, their account opening charges, value-added services, etc.

These are the few must check factors to keep in mind while choosing the best trading account in India:

Broker's reputation: Before getting involved with any broker, you must check their background and reputation in the market. You can read reviews and complaints and ask the existing users for their personal experiences. If you use the mobile application, check its rating and reviews on the Play Store or App Store.

Additional trading account charges: Stockbrokers facilitate buy and sell orders for their clients, and they charge some commission for offering this facility called the brokerage charges. Moreover, there are two types of stockbrokers in India:
Full-service Broker: These brokers provide advisory services and other premium services and charge 0.2-0.5% of Turnover of Delivery and 0.1 - 0.275% of Turnover on Intraday.
Discount Broker: These brokers provide trading facilities and are free for delivery trades and charge Rs. 10 or 20 for all other trades.

Nowadays, many discount brokerage firms offer premium features to their clients at no additional cost. Still, make sure to look for trading account charges and other charges such as AMC charges, DP Charges, brokerage charges, etc.

Advisory & Research Facilities: If you are scared of investing your money based on your research and need advisory services, you must check for this service. However, the best stockbroker must have a good reputation in advisory and research works.
Trading Platforms: You must check whether the offered online trading platform is user-friendly, has low latency, and is easy to use. Look for the demo videos of the trading apps and reviews on the respective App Store and Play Store.

You would spend too much time on the platform buying and selling shares; if you are not comfortable using the platform, it can be a big problem for you.

Customer Services: You will require some customer service if you are new to investing/trading unless you already have a mentor or advisor. There may be a few times that you may require technical support. It's good to have good customer service to fall back to for solving any major or minor issue. You must check the customer service provided by the stockbroker. Look for reviews before opting for any stockbroker.

Best Trading Account For Beginners

As a beginner, it isn't easy to understand the market trends and how to make the most out of them. Things tend to be confusing, and when it comes to investment, one confusion or a wrong decision can hurt your finances.

How can FinX by Choice India help you?

All good things that come for free: You get a free Demat Account and the liberty of no minimum deposit. For the first year, there are no AMC charges as well.
Real-time stock recommendation: The Expert Research Call reaches out to the user with insights about stocks, commodities, currencies and derivatives.
Multiple languages make it user-friendly: As of now, FinX has options for Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi and Malayalam, which means no language barrier; if you are looking for a familiar language, you have got it with FinX.
Availability across platforms: Online Trading App is available on both Android and iOS platforms.
Air-tight security: The app is highly secured with 256-bit SSL encryption and adds an extra security layer with its two-step security authentication.
Quick and robust monitoring: Users can access the portfolio anytime and anywhere, making monitoring easy and leading to stable decisions made by the users.
Quick buy/sell: Buy/sell instantly from 7 different screens in the app.
Dedicated relationship manager: Users get a dedicated relationship manager to help them with their trade-related and other relevant queries.

Best Trading Account for Investors

As an investor, the requirements are high as every investment decision made must be thorough, or it could lead to a huge loss. Investors need to stay updated and careful about each investment they make.

Why would FinX by Choice India be perfect for any investor?

Consolidated company page: Monitor and observe real-time values to make instant decisions and take actions on a scrip across different exchange segments on a single screen.
Signal: Automated research-based engine with multi-frame breakout strategies help traders with their trades. With Signal you can get the best intraday stocks to buy today.
C-Quant: Based on mathematical and quantitative statistics, the feature generates calls for Weekly positional trades and you can choose the best stocks to buy for the short term.
Advanced Chart, Studies, and a Dedicated Research Section: Traders get real-time data and company research reports and customize them with advanced charts via drawing tools.
Watchlist with filter: Create 50 scrips in 5 watchlists and customize/arrange them with unique watchlist filters.
Advanced IPO analysis: With IPO analysis, traders get thorough information, including the open, upcoming, closed IPO, listing gain, current gain, and more. Along with this, get a brief background supported by blogs and research videos.
Mojo Analysis: A separate segment for in-depth fundamental knowledge.

How to open a trading account online?

Stock markets have become electronic since 2000. Today, you need a Demat account to trade stocks. Nowadays, brokerage firms have thousands of clients, and taking physical orders from every client on time is not feasible.

To make this work, brokerage firms now have web apps and applications where you can create online trading accounts and buy or sell orders.

Online Trading Account Opening Process:

If you want to open the best trading account in India, you need to conduct thorough research or ask your friends for their suggestions. Also, look for brokerage firms that offer a free Demat account with no annual charges. Check out the trading platforms' user interface and the value-added services before choosing a platform.

Shortlist a broking firm, and inquire about their process of opening a trading account. The brokerage company will brief you about filling out the account opening and KYC forms. Moreover, a sales/customer representative from the brokerage company will walk you through the form filling and account opening process.
You also need to submit identity, address, and income proof with forms. The identity proof and address proof may include a copy of the Aadhaar card/Passport and PAN card (mandatory).
Post document submission, the brokerage company will proceed with the KYC verification.
You can also go for the e-KYC process. You must link your PAN card to your Aadhaar card and bank account. Ensure that the phone number you are registering with is the same number linked to your Aadhaar Card and PAN card.
Generally, it takes 72 hours to activate the trading account, but in some cases, it may go up to 7-8 days after completing the process.

Most stock trading companies in India may charge account opening fees to investors, whereas some may offer a free trading account with no annual maintenance charges.

What are the documents required to open a trading account?

Identity Proof: (Any identity card issued by the Central or State government)

● Aadhaar Card

● Voter ID card

● Passport

● PAN card

● Driving license

Address Proof:

Aadhaar Card
Passport
Voter ID card
Ration card
State issued driving license
Bank account statement or bank passbook
Electricity bill or gas bill

Income Proof:

A copy of your ITR (Income Tax Return)
A copy of your CA audited annual income;
Past 6 months' bank account statements
Net worth certificate.

Salaried Employee:

Your payslips and a copy of Form 16.

Choice Offering Best Trading Account in India

Choice India is one of the best trading accounts in India; why is it so? Let's find out:

25+ Years of Experience: Trusted broker backed by 25+ years of experience.
Low brokerage charges: It charges brokerage as less as 2 paisa.
Paperless Account opening: Open your trading and Demat account in less than 5 minutes.
Lower DP charges: DP charge is merely INR 10.
Technologically advanced platform: It offers state-of-the-art features in its iOs and Android App.
Free call for trade facility: Users can opt for trade over the phone, completely free of cost.
Refer more and earn more: It comes with a rewarding Demat account refer and earn program that means a lifetime source of income.
Free Research Advisory: Dedicated and Expert Team to help traders with technical and fundamental analysis.
Amazing Customer Service: Great support team to help traders throughout the trade and other relevant processes via phone call, email, and physical branches.
Trusted platform: Backed by SEBI and AUA, Choice is a trusted platform.

Not only this, Choice India offers FinX and an independent trading platform. It offers users a single-window and single-click trade without facing any time lag in the dynamic stock markets.

Visit Choice India to know more about the trading account benefits, features, and offers.