Do I need to have established credit in order to invest?

[The Bachelor]

I'm 17, college freshman and no credit established, can I open up an account to begin investing in the stock market? I need all forms of income i can get.

[Sean K]

If you have to borrow to invest likely not. If your sitting on some money they'll let you invest.

[george]

No you do not need credit to start investing. You do however need capital. To start investing in the stock market I would recommend not until you have at least 5000 to invest. If you are thinking about investing on margin I would say not to. You are just beginning so there is a learning curve in the beginning to know what type of investor you are. Do your research to know what type of strategy you will implement.

[A Nobody]

No you do not need to have established credit to invest, Very few, if any, broker/dealers check perspective clients' credit report

In North America, you must be 18 years of age to open an account with a registered broker/dealer. However a parent can open a custodian account using your social security number and when you turn 18 the assets in the account can be moved to an account in your name.

Unless you understand the markets and the products traded in those markets you should not think of investing as a means of making income. Unless you know what you're doing, why you're doing it and how to do it, you will not be successful investing.

Before you invest in any security, the first investment you should make is in yourself, and the best investment you can make is by educating yourself.
Start your education by learning why you should invest and the importance of being able to make your own decisions or how the pro’s make theirs.

Here is some reading material that can get you started in the right direction,
Beating the Street by Peter Lynch
How to Make Money in Stocks” by William O’Neil
24 Essential Lessons for Investment Success by William O’Neil
The Intelligent Investor, by Benjamin Graham
Common Stocks, Uncommon Profits, by Philip A. Fisher
One Up on Wall Street by Peter Lynch
Stocks for the Long Run, by Jeremy Siegel
The Interpretation of Financial Statements by Benjamin Graham
What Works on Wall Street by James O'Shaunessey
You Can Be a Stock Market Genius by Joel Greenblatt
Your Money and Your Brain by Jason Zweig

Get into the habit of making daily visits to some websites like MSN Money and Yahoo Finance. (http://finance.yahoo.com/

Other website that can provide instructions and help with procedures and terminology are Investopedia - http://www.investorshub.com/
Visit some of the more professional websites like Zacks Research - http://www.schaeffersresearch.com/ Some of these web sites will have advertisers who are worth looking into also. And remember, if they offer free information, get it

And when you think you want to invest/trade, try some paper trading to test your skills without spending you money http://simulatorinvestopedia.com/ and/or
http://www.tradingsimulation.com/

You at least have made the right decision to start investing, this is the first big step and it won’t be your last. Keep taking those steps forward and along the way never take the advice from people that are not in the market or try to tell you not to invest.