As a 16 year old am I able to hold shares or invest money into company of my choosing?

[Geoff]

I am interested in getting into stock exchange and trading on the side later on in life and have been reading books on trading and such. Do I have the ability to trade online or buy shares at this time in my life or am I to wait until I am eighteen years.of age?

[Donut Tim]

If you live in the United States then you will need to have a parent or guardian open a custodial account for you. Even then, the custodian is the one that actually makes the trades.
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[Ursugardaddy]

Get yourself a ROTH IRA and do not touch this account. There is no age minimum for opening a Roth. The requirement (as far as kids are concerned) is that contributions to a Roth IRA must be from eligible earned income, and contributions cannot exceed annual income. However, some brokerages, like Fidelity as an example, may require your child to be 18 years old. In that case, you need to find a broker who will allow them to open an account
With a Roth, the younger the better because Roth gains accumulate tax free, you can withdrawal the contribution at anytime but you can not withdrawal the interest that the account have earned. That 1,500 invested would grow to $160,079.09 over the course of 49yrs. 5000 would get you around $533,595.54. By doing this, you have completed most of your retirement savings before you even started your own life at the age of 18yrs old

Hope this information helped. Take Care

[A Nobody]

I North America a minor CAN NOT invest, trade or hold stocks in their name. You can have a parent open a custodian account for you using your social security number and when you turn 18 the assets in the account can be moved to an account in your name

Sorry this is not the answer you wanted to hear but it's law (both federal and civil) but this should not you from not having a parent invest for you or at the least, stop you from studying the markets and the products traded in those markets