For those of you out there, you may be asking am i trading in the US stock market(NYSE) since i keep emphasizing on it? My answer is Yes & No.

Yes-I am trading with a demo account(Investopedia) and made some profits(so called) using fundamental and technical analysis. I stopped because i want to pay more attention in my fund raising plan(as below) and would enter the NYSE as soon as i raise enough funds.

No-I was unable to penetrate the US market due to insufficient funds which i am raising now by trading in the Malaysia market(KLSE) which is quite a challenge since it restricts short-selling.

So let me talk about a brief introduction of the KLSE...
The KLSE was introduced after the famous Open Outcry System ended back in 19 Sept 1989 and has been operating till now. The KLSE consists of 3 boards->First/Main Board, Second Board & MESDAQ which totals about 1400++ companies(it's far too little compare to the US). The KLSE also restricts short-selling due to its benchmark stock index plunged 52 percent during the Asian financial crisis in 1997. Mahathir bin Mohamad, prime minister at the time also blamed speculators for the drop in Malaysia's stocks and currency. The KLSE trades two sessions from Mon-Fri (9am to 12.30pm & 2.30pm to 5pm).

The structure of KLSE is as follows:
KLSE->Bursa Malaysia(listed in KLSE)->Securities Commission(SC) which reports directly to the Minister of Finance which indirectly means our Prime Minister. To some, this flow may seem to be some kind of nonsense as how can a listed company in their own stock exchange become the regulator of their own stock exchange? I wonder...

*-> means reports to

To participate in the KLSE, you must open a Central Depositry Account(CDS) which can be done with a number of registered brokers available in Malaysia. This account allows the bearer to deposit money into it and receive money such as dividends, profits from sale of shares and so on. Upon approval, the broker shall grant a trading account(includes a trust a/c) with a credit limit to the bearer. From then, you can always deposit money into the trust account. It is to be noted that the law governs that if you deposit money with the broker, the broker must pay interest to the account holder. No 3rd part shall be allowed to use one's account and any transaction take place requires the authorization of the account holder.

For your information, i'm using HongLeong Broking. The procedures is simple. Just print a form here(if you have a HongLeong savings account) and send it to them and within a week, you will receive a notice from them. The reason why i'm using this broker is because they provide me with online trading and offer low brokerage fee as quoted by them but that applies if you buy in big volume. For small volume traders, here's a breakdown of the calculation:

i)Brokerage fee=0.700% or min RM12
ii)Clearing fee=0.030%
iii)Stamp duty=RM1.00/RM1,000

I'm not sure whether they are the cheapest in town. Perhaps, do some comparison with the rest before choosing the right broker. For technical analysis, i would recommend ChartNexus as it is a free tool available online and provides a sufficient & thorough analysis on a particular stock(for amateurs, use ExpertTrader-you will need to pay for this service). I think that's all i can share. Those who want to know more can post a comment here or post a topic at the forum on the right->