The facts: a brokerage account vs. direct-purchase

— -- Q: When buying shares of large companies, it is better to use a broker or a direct purchase program?

A: Normally I recommend investors open a brokerage account, even if they don't plan to do much trading.

Using a deep discount online brokerage firm, you can get commissions for $5 or less. And if you have a portfolio in the neighborhood of $25,000 or more, you can get free commissions.

You can read more here about choosing a low-cost brokerage firm.

Many investors incorrectly assume direct-stock purchase programs are free. Yes, many larger companies allow the public to buy shares from them for no commission. But other fees can quickly add up and make direct stock purchases more costly than a low-cost online deep discount broker.

Read more here about the costs involved with those different ways of buying stock.

Matt Krantz is a financial markets reporter at USA TODAY and author of Investing Online for Dummies. He answers a different reader question every weekday in his Ask Matt column at money.usatoday.com. To submit a question, e-mail Matt at mkrantz@usatoday.com. Click here to see previous Ask Matt columns. Follow Matt on Twitter at: twitter.com/mattkrantz