2. If the company you want to invest in doesn't have a DRIP plan, look for a broker that lets you set up DRIP-like accounts through which you can buy shares of stocks with low transaction costs. Just check the following:^[1]

• Does it have a monthly minimum investment? If so, that might affect your willingness to begin investing with that company.
• Does it involve a relatively high fee to sell shares later? That might be an issue if you should prove to be an active trader. In general, you should use DRIPs only to buy high-quality stocks you plan to hold for a long time, so the sales charges will not be so important. If you intend to trade often, you should open a discount stock brokerage account that features low trading fees.