There is no need to romanticize Wall Street and associate a brokerage account solely with the dream of yachts. It is not a ticket to the billionaires’ club, but a tool for managing personal assets. Through it, capital starts working, and money gains meaning. Financial literacy in action — not in theory.
What Is a Brokerage Account and Why Is It Needed
Every operation in the stock market — whether it’s buying stocks, bonds, or currency — requires an intermediary. This function is performed by a broker, and an investment deposit becomes a technical platform through which all monetary and asset flows pass.
A brokerage deposit is not an alternative to a bank deposit. It is a bridge to financial instruments with potential profitability that can exceed inflation. It is used for transactions on the exchange, where securities of over 3000 issuers are traded — from state-owned companies to startups.
The calculation is simple: the average return on S&P 500 stocks over the last 90 years is around 10% per annum. For deposits, it’s around 6% in an optimistic scenario. It is needed for investing, earning passive income, and working with capital in real-time.
How a Brokerage Account Works
The functionality of the account resembles a personal investment cabinet. Funds are deposited into it, allocated to assets, and participate in trading. Purchased securities are held in a depository, and information about each transaction is stored in the broker’s accounting system.
Access to it is round-the-clock. Transactions are carried out in a mobile application, over the phone, through a terminal. The minimum entry threshold is from 1 ₽. Even with 100,000 ₽, you can diversify across 5-6 sectors and a dozen issuers.
How to Open a Brokerage Account: Step-by-Step Guide
Opening an account takes from 5 to 15 minutes. Documents required — only a passport. Signing up — through public services, electronic signature, or courier. All done remotely.
What is needed for this:
- Choose a broker. Compare commissions, reviews, licenses from the Central Bank of Russia.
- Register. Complete identification, sign a contract.
- Transfer funds. Via bank transfer or card.
- Set up the application or terminal. Choose a suitable interface.
- Start buying. Choose assets, place orders.
Investment platform in the top 3 for convenience:
- Tinkoff Investments.
- VTB My Investments.
- Alfa-Investments.
Commission — from 0.03% per transaction. Deposits and withdrawals — instant.
Brokerage Account for Beginners: Mistakes and Pitfalls
Beginners often make the same mistakes that lead to losses:
- Ignoring diversification. Investing the entire sum in one company can result in losses with any drop in stock prices.
- Buying on hype. The rise of Tesla or Nvidia stocks does not guarantee growth after purchase.
- Lack of strategy. Without a goal (e.g., “accumulate 3 million ₽ in 5 years”), the deposit turns into chaos.
The platform works effectively only with clear actions, calculations, and analysis.
Where to Earn Through a Brokerage Account: Real Scenarios
How to earn on the stock exchange — a non-rhetorical question. Dozens of strategies operate in the market. Several working scenarios:
- Growth stocks: investing in companies with high dynamics (e.g., Yandex, Ozon, Gazpromneft). Potential — up to 40% per annum;
- Dividend stocks: stable payouts from large issuers (Surgutneftegaz, Severstal). Income — up to 15% per year;
- Federal loan bonds: a reliable instrument for capital preservation. Coupon — from 8% to 12%;
- Currency investments: buying dollars, euros, yuan through an investment platform protects against devaluation.
Combining instruments allows for creating a balanced portfolio and reducing risks.
Brokerage Account and Taxes: How Not to Lose on Formalities
Any profit through such a deposit is subject to taxation. The standard rate is 13% of income. But the tax burden can easily be reduced with legal instruments.
Example: with an income of 120,000 ₽ per year, the tax will be 15,600 ₽. But with an Individual Investment Account (IIA), you can get back up to 52,000 ₽ annually — with contributions up to 400,000 ₽. This structure makes the deposit particularly advantageous for long-term investors.
Additionally, there is an exemption from profit tax when holding an asset for more than three years — under the “long-term ownership benefit.”
In practice: investing 300,000 ₽ in stocks and holding for over 36 months allows you to eliminate taxes when selling even at a profit.
Risks and Asset Protection in a Brokerage Account
An investment platform does not guarantee profit. Losses can occur with falling stock prices, issuer bankruptcy, currency fluctuations. But risks can be controlled.
Client funds are kept separate from the broker’s assets. Even if the intermediary’s license is revoked, the assets remain under the owner’s control. The depository is an independent structure that records each security.
To protect capital, investors use:
- limits on losing trades (stop-losses);
- regular portfolio review;
- diversification: including different assets and sectors;
- switching to protective instruments during volatility — bonds, currency, gold.
With a responsible approach, a brokerage account not only reduces inflationary losses but also helps accumulate capital in a predictable manner.
How to Choose a Broker and Avoid Mistakes
The market offers dozens of companies. Choosing a stockbroker affects not only comfort but also trading efficiency. A difference of 0.1% in commission with active operations can “eat up” tens of thousands of rubles per year.
Key criteria:
- possession of a license from the Central Bank of Russia;
- commission size for transactions, deposit/withdrawal of funds;
- convenience of the application and the presence of a terminal;
- reputation and user reviews;
- availability of IIA, analytical reviews, technical support.
By the end of 2024, the largest players were Tinkoff, Sberbank, VTB, and Alfa. Each of them provides an investment account with different functionality but guaranteed asset protection. Commissions range from 0.03% to 0.3%.
Who Is Already Using an Investment Platform and Why
According to the Moscow Exchange data, by March 2025, there were over 32 million brokerage accounts opened. However, activity is maintained in only 15% of them — the rest remain empty due to fear, lack of knowledge, or absence of a strategy.
The typical account owner profile is a man aged 30-45 from a large city with above-average income. But with the development of mobile platforms, the share of female investors has increased to 38%, and the average age has started to decrease.
Reasons for opening:
- saving for retirement or children’s education;
- passive income;
- an alternative to deposits;
- protection against inflation and currency instability.
A brokerage account for beginners is no more complicated than a banking application. The principles are the same: depositing, allocating, controlling. And the result is capital formation.
Conclusion
The stock market is no longer a closed club. Now, a brokerage account is not a symbol of elitism but an accessible mechanism. It structures the approach to money, disciplines thinking, enables action rather than waiting. Long-term investments, real profits, tax savings — everything works if you engage your mind, not emotions.
