When you open an account with a brokerage, you usually deposit some money with them by transferring it from your checking or savings account. My children are naturally curious creatures and so they wanted to know why this host was so worried, and this led into a long discussion about investing in stocks as opposed to investing in other things. How exactly do you buy stocks? Usually, they operate by following a very simple set of rules. If you want easy access to your money, are just investing for a rainy day, or want to invest more than the annual IRA limit, you’ll probably want a standard brokerage account. For example, let’s say that you are 40 years old. For example, some brokers offer customers a variety of educational tools, access to investment research, and other features that are especially useful for newer investors.