Question: Is it legal to sell stock tips online?
Can I place an ad online offering stock tips for cash payable through Paypal? Does this require a license from the government?
Answer:
yes it does require a license and it is (ONLY) legal if you have that license
Well the 'for cash' bit is tricky. So I wouldn't. What if the investment goes wrong and the person sues you? More than likely you would be sued for unsuitable advice (as you wouldn't know what was suitable)
You could give tips or recommendations like in an online newsletter or tipsheet. But any facts and figures must be sourced and keep records of your sources. Give the usual warnings. Basically you cannot advise someone in particular to buy certain shares, or even 'induce' them to do so.
Apart from the legalities most people want stuff on the internet for free!
It's legal, but you need to have some type of Education in knowing what stocks to buy, sell or steer clear of. If you provide bad advice, you'll be out of business in a New York Minute. You'll also require a Disclaimer. Is this for a website or just sending out email advice? You'll also have to pay Federal and State taxes on any income you receive. Contact the SEC.
Judging you by reading your Bio, I recommend that you stick to playing pokemon.....you can't spell for **** and you're going to provide stock tips? No way, Jose.
Add to: @JoeyV....My error. I viewed the Bio of another contributor, hence, the Asker's spelling is fine. In addition, it was unnecessary for your wise azz comment on MY spelling. Maybe you should of checked further if the Asker in fact, had a Bio and played pokemon. I apologize for ruining your day Einstein, or should it be Mister Perfect?
I've never met you, know nothing about you, so I wouldn't spend my money on "stock tips" from a totally unknown individual. The customers you dream of will probably feel the same way.
There is always the question - if your tips are so good, how come you yourself have not profited from them and become a millionaire. The idiots who promote these "Get rich quick" schemes always forget that. If the scheme is genuine, how are they not millionaires themselves?
Some of this other advice here is weird (like the guy who says you can't spell for **** - I think all words are spelled correctly so it's pretty clear who has the spelling problem).
You just have to have the appropriate SEC licenses in the US which is at least Series 66 & 7. You must be registered as a registered investment advisor (RIA) which is a little bit of a pain but not terrible. You have to do this at the state level, I believe in all states and possibly with the SEC. There are some exemptions to this but it's just not wise to use them. The way you do this is to organize an LLC in your state. This is very simple matter of filing a few forms with a few different agencies. There are instructions all over the web about doing it.
Then you put up your website along with your qualifications and see what happens. I would suggest that you know something about stocks, either an in-depth knowledge of technicals (I think underexposed here does a really good job of explaining technicals even if he and I don't agree on everything) or some ability to understand financials at least at the level of a CFA charterholder.
This paypal thing is seriously amateur - why do you care how people pay you? Accepting credit cards is pretty simple (Intuit, btw, has great credit card deals for small merchants).
If what you know about stocks is the usual YA stuff of "Buy healthcare stocks because lots of people are getting old" you should just forget this. If you can do an analysis like say David Einhorn's analysis of GMCR that is all over the web, you can make some real money doing this.
Edit: Despite what Raysor says, I wouldn't worry for two seconds about getting sued for bad advice. I have never heard of any brokerage being sued for generic stock recommendations. I'm sure tons of people had striong buys on Enron and Worldcom right before they blew up and they don't get sued.
its already done and its a kind of business