This will depend on whether your goal is to invest over the Long-Term, Trade stocks and Options, or both.
Long Term Investing
If you only want to invest for the long-term and not actively trade, then this can be started with as little as a $100 per month through an external fund manager. Our Long-Term passive investing strategy will show you how to set this up within an hour. Contributions will then be made automatically from your bank account each month.
Trading Stocks and Options
You will need to open a brokerage account to do this. We recommend new investors open their account with the minimum amount required by your preferred broker. Once you can demonstrate that you know what you are doing and are profitable, you can then add more capital.
Our preferred brokers and their minimum requirements are listed below.
Interactive Brokers currently allow you to open an account with USD 3,000.
Most other brokers (eg Schwab, TD Ameritrade) will require you to open an account with a minimum of USD $10,000. We encourage you to do your research here to find a broker to meet your requirements.
Once your account is open, you will be able to place trades with just a few hundred dollars.