does it cost anything for a stock portfiolo?

Depends on the broker. Completely free: http://www.sharebuilder.com/

Most discount brokerages will not charge you fees, kind of like free checking at most banks.

The only costs associated with a portfolio are the comissions you pay when you buy and sell a stock. These range anywhere from $5 to $20 to even more if you use a live broker to do your transactions, as opposed to manually doing it on the computer and having it automatically processed.

If you don't already have one, a good start could be sharebuilder.com because they don't have a minimum price to open an account and keep it for free. They even have programs where you can pay $4 per stock purchase if you enroll in a monthly program where you deposit x amount of money every month to be invested in stocks. You decide how much. Look into it.

If you need any help, I'm a PM away. Take care and good luck.

There is a commission to buy and to sell.

Some firms may charge an annual account fee for no activity. This MAY be exempt for custodial and retirement accounts which retirement accounts may be subject to their own fee. Depends on your assets, activity and the brokerage firms policies. Ask the brokerage firm for full disclosures on costs and fees before sending in money.

Sharebuilder is NOT completely free.

And I would AVOID using ING's ridiculous and COSTLY service. Have cited prev Y!A posts on this in detail why to avoid this program.

Generally, no. Once you buy stock, the broker doesn't charge you to hold it.

However, mutual funds generally have fees, which are taken out of the value of the fund.

Also, certain types of accounts, especially retirement accounts, sometimes have fees.

Etrade charges inactivity fees quarterly. I don't know of others who do.

Generally, you only get charged for your trades.

Those who have stock portfolios are currently paying dearly. Believe me.