Equity investment advice

Not sure if this is the right sub forum, if not my apologies.

I have so far invested only through Mutual Funds. My investment pattern is steady rather than being spectacular. I know nothing about DEMAT accounts and trading in general. I do not wish to be a trader but a long term investor. For instance I never withdraw from my MF, so far its worked well for me. In future if a MF under performs I will reinvest the monies elsewhere. The aim of my investment pattern is to have a sizable portfolio when I retire and slowly move my assets into low risk investments when I get closer to retirement. I am 25 years away from retirement though.

I now want to be able to invest in equities directly. I want to buy and hold sound stocks for long periods. My investment scale will be small. I want to invest in good IPOs and stocks in the secondary market that have promising years ahead or low valuations.

The only thing I understand so far is that I will require a DEMAT account. Whom do I approach to open an account. Is there any particular preference? I know SBI/ICICI Direct offer services. Also the brokerage firm I have the account with should have good research material. Do these firms also offer advice as part of their service? While low commissions and other charges are important, they are not a primary consideration for me as I do not intend to invest on a regular basis or indeed regularly buy and sell.

I look forward to listening and learning from your advice.

Many thanks
lonsharim

A year or so ago, I was in exactly the same situation as you till I opened a DEMAT account with HDFC Bank. This lead to opening a trading account and though my holdings are tiny, it allowed me the flexibility of booking some profits with Reliance Industries and more recently with Vijaya Bank. My retirement too is about 20 years away and I am looking to invest in good stocks that will not require constant monitoring. At the same time, once in a while it is nice to book some good profits so I am on the look out also for multibaggers. The answers are not easy to find and there is no substitute for doing one's own homework and research though I don't have the time or knowledge to do all of this. Hence I consult this very useful forum from time to time for direction. The biggest dilemma that I am facing now, and I hope that some seniors will provide me with answers is whether or not to invest in NIFTY 50 (not through SIP as that is not possible but in a SIP style by myself). This will ensure instant diversification and will not require too much homework. Please share your thoughts on this. Thanks and all the best!