Can you sell a security through a different broker from which it was purchased?
I'm in the US and I once transferred shares in a brokerage account from Schwab to Fidelity.  I received the shares from my employer as RSUs and the employer used Schwab.   After I quit and the shares vested, I wanted to move the shares to Fidelity because that is where all my other accounts are.  I called Fidelity and they were more than happy to help, and it was an easy process.  I believe Schwab charged about $50 for the transfer. The only tricky part is that you need to transfer the cost basis of the shares.  I was on a three-way phone call with Schwab and Fidelity for Schwab to tell Fidelity what the purchase price was. Many brokers allow you to transfer shares to another broker without selling them. It depends on what kind of account and who the broker is for what forms you might have to fill out and what other hoops you might have to jump through.
Usually, you can buy ETFs through brokerages.  I looked at London to see if there's any familiar brokerage names, and it appears that the address below is to Fidelity Investments Worldwide and their site indicates that you can buy securities. Any brokerage, in theory, should allow you to invest in securities.  You could always call and ask if they allow you to invest in ETFs.  Some brokerages may also allow you to purchase securities in other countries; for instance, some of the firms in the U.S. allow investors to invest in the ETF HK:2801, which is not a U.S. ETF.  Many countries have ETF securities available to local and foreign investors.  This site appears to help point people to brokers in London. Also, see this answer on this site (a UK investor who's invested in the U.S. through Barclays). I don't know where your trade figures are from. ETrade, TD Ameritrade, Fidelity, etc all have trading costs under 10 USD per share, so I'm not sure where your costs are coming from. I doubt currency conversion or anything like that will double the cost. As for your question, the answer is: It depends How much trading will you do? In what types of investments? For example, Schwab charges no commission on ETF purchases, but this is not an advantage if you wont buy ETFs. Consider minimums. Different brokers have different minimum cash balance/deposit requirements, so make sure you can meet those. It's true that you can get real time quotes anywhere, but consider the other services. For example, TD Ameritrade pools research reports for many publicly traded companies which are nice to read about what analysts have to say. Different brokers given different research tools, so read about offerings and see what's most useful to you. You can open different brokerage accounts, but it's much more convenient to have a one-stop place where you can do all you trading. Pick a broker which is low cost and offers a variety of investments as well as good customer support and a straightforward system. A 401-K is something you get through an employer. I recommend getting a self-directed IRA.  You can open an IRA with Scottrade with $500 The money you put into an IRA is tax deferred, meaning that you do not have to pay taxes on profits. It may also lower your tax liability.  Scottrade has a feature to automatically reinvest any dividends from the securities you own. This feature allows you to avoid commissions on those automatic purchases.  Don't try to time the market. Pick a good ETF (exchange traded fund) that pays dividends. It will give you diversification.  Avoid the urge to buy and sell constantly. This only gives commissions to the broker. You're licensed to sell investments. You could get a job at a broker or RIA. You can sell stocks bonds funds annuities and work for a fee based ria in sales. You're technically licensed to give advice on investments but without at least some academic expertise in finance I would avoid it. Helpful?  edit: you don't need securities licenses to work in a bank. you'll be selling loans which is regulated differently. How come when I sell stocks, the brokerage won't let me cash out for three days, telling me the SEC requires this clearance period for the transaction to clear, but they can swap shit around in under a second?   Be interesting to see what would happen if *every* transaction wasn't cleared until the closing bell. That's up to you. If you instruct your broker to sell shares purchased in specific lots, they can do that -- but doing so requires that you and/or they track specific fractional lots forever afterwards so you know what is still there to be sold. FIFO simplifies the bookkeeping. And I am not convinced selecting specific lots makes much difference; the government gets its share of your profits sooner or later. "Shares sold to private investors are sold using private contracts and do not adhere to the same level of strict regulations as publicly traded shares. You may have different classes of shares in the company with different strings attached to them, depending on the deals made with the investors at the time. Since public cannot negotiate, the IPO prospectus is in fact the investment contract between the company and the public, and the requirements to what the company can put there are much stricter than private sales. Bob may not be able to sell his ""special"" stocks on the public exchange, as the IPO specifies which class of stock is being listed for trading, and Bob's is not the same class. He can sell it on the OTC market, which is less regulated, and then the buyer has to do his due diligence. Yes, OTC-sold stocks may have strings attached to them (for example a buy back option at a preset time and price)." "Yes you can. One additional ""advantage"" of getting the physical certificate is you can use it to transfer your account from one brokerage to another.  You get the certificates in the mail and then just send them to the new broker. Why anyone would want to go through this extra work (and usually added expense) rather than a direct transfer is beyond me but it is one additional ""advantage"" of physical certificates."