I like this way of investing, as I really just have them draft some cash every month from my account, and then the dividends just go to buy more stock. I pay the taxes on the dividends at tax time every year. Some excellent companies doing this.
So I have some stock in 2 electric companies that have DRIPs. The first one, my dad started for me when I was young, with him listed as custodian - he just transferred me a few shares to get started. The second one, I was a customer of, and customers could start investing directly, without a broker.
Question is, how do you get stock in a company that has a DRIP but you don't have stock in? I've never invested in stocks directly. Specifically, I know you can get an online account and buy stock, but then is the stock held in the same of the online brokerage? because some of the DRIP companies will let you put your stock in the DRIP program, but the stock has to be in YOUR name, not in the name of a brokerage company....