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With company stock investments, direct stock plans operate differently than buying stock through a broker. There is no commission charged for these stock plans, but there can be a small fee. The other difference is that the company buys and sells the stock at a given time. The investor cannot sell or trade stocks at will. The investor may turn the stocks over to a broker to sell, but the broker cannot charge a commission. You may be charged a fee by the company. It depends on your agreement.

The advantage is that if the company allows a private investor to purchase stocks directly this would allow you to set up a pay check withdrawal each pay period for the purposes of the stock plan. There are various advisory services that can assist you in locating companies that offer these direct stock purchase plans. I would suggest that you find companies you are interested in a make an inquiry with investor relations.

It will astound you the number of very good companies that will allow you to buy stocks direct by setting up a plan. The ranges of possibilities include utility companies, fast food stocks, entertainment and retail stocks.

Using your cupboard as a stock picker

There are experts in the field of making predictions on stock performance. Another expert in the field of some stocks may be you the consumer. Think about it, you pick products that for various reasons are your favorites. Your kitchen cupboard or shopping basket may be a very good prediction on the long term performance of the company stock.

In the brand name product area you may need to look on the packaging to determine the name of the company to find the stock. Some favorites like Clorox, Johnson & Johnson, and others are listed under the familiar company name. Due to mergers and acquisitions many name brand products have become subsidiaries or subsumed in a larger company's product line. All you need to do is check out the references on the label or customer service information that is located somewhere on the product.

What are blue chip stocks?

In times of uncertainty and for long term investors the Blue Chip stocks are a part of every portfolio either in direct stock purchases or through mutual funds. The Blue Chip stock is a large cap company and has decades and even a century of presence on the stock market. Some Blue Stock stocks are relatively new players like Home Depot or the result of a merger & acquisition. If you look around your house and around your town the brand products you use or have come to rely on are Blue Chip stocks.

The investor can pick and choose a Blue Chip stock and buy it through a stock broker or on-line with a trading company like Scotttrade or E*Trade. This gives you access to the companies performance on the short term and charts going back at least 10 years. The investor can access the company's financial reports and quarterly earnings on-line. The investor can ask the company to send you a company prospectus.

One thing you should definitely know is that the Blue Chip stocks merit a good review in all times not just in times of market downtimes.