Does anyone on here buy/sell stocks & shares?

[squirtyflower]

TCM
a lot of it is luck, but you can also play safe and get nice rewards
I could have throttled him when Newcastle bombed
My idea was that if I invested in the scum I would make money if they kept winning and I wouldn't feel as bad about it, and if I lost my money it would be because they were shit! A win-win if you ask me.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

I think i might be interested in buying (and eventually selling hopefully for profit) some shares.

Nothing big or anything just a couple of hundred quid hear and there. I want to use it as a way to try to earn some extra money to put away.

The problem is that i have not got a clue where to start or what to look for?

Can anyone give me a breif idiots guide as to how to get started?

cheers

Best thing is to put it in a bank, or if yer desperate to lose it, buy a few scratchcards.

 

[SWP's back]

Might be best off drip feeding money into a fund rather than individual shares, say £50 or £100 a month, whatever you're comfortable with. I use a company called Hargreaves Lansdown. If you're just starting off, go for a cautious fund that picks UK companies.

If you're just starting off, get advice from a professional and they should be able to match up a fund that meets your goals and time frame.

If you are investing for 15 years then a cautious fund would be wrong and investing in the UK is actually higher risk than a mix of geopolitical regions.

 

[Plaything of the gods]

I think i might be interested in buying (and eventually selling hopefully for profit) some shares.

Nothing big or anything just a couple of hundred quid hear and there. I want to use it as a way to try to earn some extra money to put away.

The problem is that i have not got a clue where to start or what to look for?

Can anyone give me a breif idiots guide as to how to get started?

cheers

Don't do shares mate, too expensive and risky for the novice investing small amounts of money.

Much more sensible would be to drip feed into a Stocks & Shares ISA. If you've put money into a Cash ISA this tax year, you'll be able to invest up to £5,760 (equivalent to half the annual ISA allowance) in a Stocks & Shares ISA. If you haven't done a Cash ISA this tax year, you can invest up to £11,520 in a Stocks & Shares ISA.

Drip feeding your money in, as opposed to investing a lump sum, means you won't be investing at the wrong time (top of the market). It also means you won't be investing at the exact right time (bottom of the market). But as no one can guess which way the market is heading, drip feeding is the 'safest' way to get your money in.

What to invest in depends on your age, attitude to risk and objectives. As I don't know these, I'll just give some general ideas using the Hargreaves Lansdown (HL*) site - and specifically the funds that HL rate highly as to show you all funds would just bewilder you:

• Income funds (a core holding for any type of investor; you don't have to take the income as income, you can have it reinvested).
• Global and Specialist funds (higher/high risk but potentially high returns, for the more risk tolerant investor with a long time horizon, ideal for drip feeding in money as the risk is spread in small amounts over the period of investment. I have invested in quite a few of these. There are other areas not in that HL list, such as healthcare, technology, Japan, the Far East, North America, Europe, and so on (these last four are in country/region sectors in the fund categorisation.))

Lump sums can be added to any fund at any time - a good strategy if there is a market collapse as the time to buy quality funds is when everyone is doing a fire sale on the underlying shares.


* I invest with HL, which is my only connection with them. Very pleased with their services, costs and value though - well worth looking into as they rebate a lot of their initial commission and some of their annual commission, thus increasing the amount that gets invested, which means much better returns for the investor over the long term.

 

[DenisLawBackHeel74]

I think i might be interested in buying (and eventually selling hopefully for profit) some shares.

Nothing big or anything just a couple of hundred quid hear and there. I want to use it as a way to try to earn some extra money to put away.

The problem is that i have not got a clue where to start or what to look for?

Can anyone give me a breif idiots guide as to how to get started?

cheers

If you have some spare cash and want to invest the best option for you is a stocks and shares isa. You protect any upside from tax (whilst in the isa wrapper) and have the benefit of buying funds as well as direct shares in single businesses.

If it is genuine share dealing you are interested in then you need to decide your motivation. Normally to have any sustainable success in dealing you need to have a medium term 3-5 year timeframe in mind. It's easy buying shares at a low and selling a few weeks or months later when they have a high but not really very exciting (although I know people who do this). There other consideration is income, buying shares for medium or long term can give you some nice income through dividends. I think Vodafone are still around 5% in terms of return, so are BP.

To get started, you can quite easily set up an account with Fidelity, it's online and can be managed that way. You will be charged 9 quid per transaction (buying or selling) and if you buy a fund you may also have some maintenance costs of about 1.5% of the value annually.


At this point I should warn you that share prices can go up or down...but I can't be arsed, it's your money.

 

[NeilYoungIsBack]

I'm still with HL but there are cheaper options out there. They've announced their long-awaited new pricing policy today in fact, but some are sceptical....

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/10573645/Why-investors-should-leave-Hargreaves-Lansdown.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/pers ... sdown.html</a>

Although they aren't the cheapest I for one really like their website and research tools.

However, HL are still good value for small portfolios, and for anyone starting out their Multi-manager funds are worth considering, as you can get a lot of diversity in your portfolio from Day 1.

 

[Nebuchadnezzar]

I'm starting a company, but need investors to get it up and running. Fancy chipping in?

Send £250 to:

Mr Pigeon
1 Agenda Avenue
La La Land
L4 L4L.

Nice one.

Agenda Avenue, good chippy on there for Liverpool away....

 

[Des]

Another idea for the OP, premium bonds, you purchase the bonds for say £1,000 as I did, you never lose this initial outlay and can cancel the whole thing anytime and get your maney back, you are entered in to a draw each month for prizes up to £1,000,000, i've had mine a few months and have already made a few bob.

Have a look on the NS&I website.

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

I have and do dabble in shares. I have had some absolute disasters and some winners.

My worst deals were in two technology shares bought at the peak of the dot.com boom in 1999.

One bought for £1000 and sold at £300 the other £1000 sold for £150!

I recently paid 90p a share for some shares in a company called Coal of Africa. Shot up to £1.35 and I sold out, leaving just my profit in. They are now worth 6p a share so profit all gone!!

However I have made money this year on Thomas Cook shares, BT, Royal Mail, Westminster Group, QPP and Merlin entertainments. Royal Mail was an absolute certainty, just a pity they scaled back allocations. Me and the misses made £500 for holding them a week (should have held on longer with hindsight as almost doubled in value now). Merlin was held for a week and made me £180.

New issues can often be a good starting point to make money.

The other thing to do is keep your eyes open. Look at successful brands and then ask yourself if you think this will continue. Whitbread has been a great share as they are not just a brewer anymore. They own Premier Inn, probably the most successful hotel chain in the UK and costa coffee (almost recession proof as people will always be happy paying £2 for a little treat).....shares up 15% in last 3 months.

Next as already mentioned has been the major success story if the retail sector due to its strong brand, mid price offering and online sales, Asos is another online retail group that had you invested £1000 at launch in 1999 I believe you would be worth in the region of £200,000 now.......incredible. Sports Direct has been another major success story share price wise making Ashley his millions. Cheap goods, piled high, sell em quickly.

Easyjet have rocketed since they introduced allocated seating. Burberry since the Chinese became Rich!

People are living longer but usually at the cost of their health so drug companies can do well. As squirty mentioned Shire has been a storming success and more recently Astra Zeneca has increased by 20% in 6 months or so.

Share dealing in my opinion is for you if 1. It's money you can afford to lose and 2. If you have a higher risk tolerance. If not then maybe best investing in a fund through a broker like Hargreaves Lansdown.

Alternatively take some advice.

 

[SWP's back]

Another idea for the OP, premium bonds, you purchase the bonds for say £1,000 as I did, you never lose this initial outlay and can cancel the whole thing anytime and get your maney back, you are entered in to a draw each month for prizes up to £1,000,000, i've had mine a few months and have already made a few bob.

Have a look on the NS&I website.

And the vast majority earn less than inflation.

 

[worsleyweb]

I set up a virtual share portfolio to have a dabble and bought 129,000 of pretend Thomas Cook shares. They are now worth 1.2 million. I feel sick every time I look.

 

[SWP's back]

I think i might be interested in buying (and eventually selling hopefully for profit) some shares.

Nothing big or anything just a couple of hundred quid hear and there. I want to use it as a way to try to earn some extra money to put away.

The problem is that i have not got a clue where to start or what to look for?

Can anyone give me a breif idiots guide as to how to get started?

cheers

Don't do shares mate, too expensive and risky for the novice investing small amounts of money.

Much more sensible would be to drip feed into a Stocks & Shares ISA. If you've put money into a Cash ISA this tax year, you'll be able to invest up to £5,760 (equivalent to half the annual ISA allowance) in a Stocks & Shares ISA. If you haven't done a Cash ISA this tax year, you can invest up to £11,520 in a Stocks & Shares ISA.

Drip feeding your money in, as opposed to investing a lump sum, means you won't be investing at the wrong time (top of the market). It also means you won't be investing at the exact right time (bottom of the market). But as no one can guess which way the market is heading, drip feeding is the 'safest' way to get your money in.

What to invest in depends on your age, attitude to risk and objectives. As I don't know these, I'll just give some general ideas using the Hargreaves Lansdown (HL*) site - and specifically the funds that HL rate highly as to show you all funds would just bewilder you:

• Income funds (a core holding for any type of investor; you don't have to take the income as income, you can have it reinvested).
• Global and Specialist funds (higher/high risk but potentially high returns, for the more risk tolerant investor with a long time horizon, ideal for drip feeding in money as the risk is spread in small amounts over the period of investment. I have invested in quite a few of these. There are other areas not in that HL list, such as healthcare, technology, Japan, the Far East, North America, Europe, and so on (these last four are in country/region sectors in the fund categorisation.))

Lump sums can be added to any fund at any time - a good strategy if there is a market collapse as the time to buy quality funds is when everyone is doing a fire sale on the underlying shares.


* I invest with HL, which is my only connection with them. Very pleased with their services, costs and value though - well worth looking into as they rebate a lot of their initial commission and some of their annual commission, thus increasing the amount that gets invested, which means much better returns for the investor over the long term.

I am not really a fan of drip feeding from capital.

It's good to do from income and makes use of pound cost averaging but is a waste if you have built a reserve which is sat in the bank as it will only ensure your total investable assets earn a below inflation return (as deposit based saving is for the hard of thinking due to the minute returns).

 

[MCFCinUSA]

If you're doing it as a hobbie and bit of fun then fine.

But throwing a few hundred here and there at direct shares is neither saving not investing and it's very high risk. By the time you read something, if it was worth moving for, the professionals will have already done it.

Def worth listening to Sam on this subject..

I'd suggest just buying new issues, like the Post Office (bit late for that one right now) and just employing a long hold strategy.

Even if you start in the hundreds, if you don't touch them for a decade or two you'll probably do pretty well with the dividends they'll earn and the capital appreciation you'll accrue; a damn sight better than leaving the money in the bank.

Otherwise, any 'investments' you're going to make should take into account your tax payer status (band) penchant for risk, regular income/current assets and your capital gains/income objectives. You don't mention any of this stuff, or your age. Any investment advisor is going to grill you on this stuff to ensure they're doing their job properly, although from what you're saying you may not be at this juncture yet.

If you'd like to gamble on the stockmarket (literally) I can recommend IGIndex, where I've had an account for over 20 years. This allows you to speculate on underlying securities & derivatives, including currencies & indices, metals, options & futures. You don't need a lot of money to do this, although because it's leveraged you can blow you wad quickly if you don't know what you're doing. Think of it like a financial bookmakers, like Ladbrokes but for betting on shares etc (which you don't OWN, you just take a position - a bet, on the direction they're going to go).

I realise my last paragraph is likely way beyond your current understanding, but you'll get there eventually if you're interested.

Finally, if you're looking to make a few quid, take up playing online poker.

(and I've posted plenty on the latter elsewhere already, as I used to pay my mortgage gambling, although as I've told enough people already "I never gambled, I played backgammon & poker for money, and there's a difference".. I was also a Series 7 & 63 over here, and worked for a former Member of the Manchester Stock Exchange in my early days - and in all of the above there is a common thread)

Good luck!

*** and it's excellent advice from those above to take full advantage of any UK tax-efficient ways of investing your money for the longer term, even if it sounds like you're not going to have too many worries at the outset in busting through your capital gains allowances for the year (market timing aspects aside, as there could be a pretty nice dump coming up soon on this side of the Atlantic, which of course will present buying opportunities)

 

[SWP's back]

None of the above is factually incorrect. Good post.

 

[MCFCinUSA]

Another idea for the OP, premium bonds, you purchase the bonds for say £1,000 as I did, you never lose this initial outlay and can cancel the whole thing anytime and get your maney back, you are entered in to a draw each month for prizes up to £1,000,000, i've had mine a few months and have already made a few bob.

Have a look on the NS&I website.

these used to be an excellent option for higher-income tax payers, but recently as they've cut back on the yield they have become far less attractive

(but I'd suggest doing your research on these and there are some very good trackers & articles of analysis out there if you search for them.. still a gamble, but your mathematical expectancy can be calculated and you may fancy a bit of a 'flutter' with the possibility - however small, that you could land a juicy win)

 

[Millwallawayveteran1988]

I set up a virtual share portfolio to have a dabble and bought 129,000 of pretend Thomas Cook shares. They are now worth 1.2 million. I feel sick every time I look.

I assume you £129,000 worth rather than 129,000 shares as they are currently worth £1.87. Wouldn't worry too much. You have to have the £129,000 in the first place to do it for real!!

 

[worsleyweb]

I set up a virtual share portfolio to have a dabble and bought 129,000 of pretend Thomas Cook shares. They are now worth 1.2 million. I feel sick every time I look.

I assume you £129,000 worth rather than 129,000 shares as they are currently worth £1.87. Wouldn't worry too much. You have to have the £129,000 in the first place to do it for real!!

Fair point Barbara!

 

[Plaything of the gods]

I think i might be interested in buying (and eventually selling hopefully for profit) some shares.

Nothing big or anything just a couple of hundred quid hear and there. I want to use it as a way to try to earn some extra money to put away.

The problem is that i have not got a clue where to start or what to look for?

Can anyone give me a breif idiots guide as to how to get started?

cheers

Don't do shares mate, too expensive and risky for the novice investing small amounts of money.

Much more sensible would be to drip feed into a Stocks & Shares ISA. If you've put money into a Cash ISA this tax year, you'll be able to invest up to £5,760 (equivalent to half the annual ISA allowance) in a Stocks & Shares ISA. If you haven't done a Cash ISA this tax year, you can invest up to £11,520 in a Stocks & Shares ISA.

Drip feeding your money in, as opposed to investing a lump sum, means you won't be investing at the wrong time (top of the market). It also means you won't be investing at the exact right time (bottom of the market). But as no one can guess which way the market is heading, drip feeding is the 'safest' way to get your money in.

What to invest in depends on your age, attitude to risk and objectives. As I don't know these, I'll just give some general ideas using the Hargreaves Lansdown (HL*) site - and specifically the funds that HL rate highly as to show you all funds would just bewilder you:

• Income funds (a core holding for any type of investor; you don't have to take the income as income, you can have it reinvested).
• Global and Specialist funds (higher/high risk but potentially high returns, for the more risk tolerant investor with a long time horizon, ideal for drip feeding in money as the risk is spread in small amounts over the period of investment. I have invested in quite a few of these. There are other areas not in that HL list, such as healthcare, technology, Japan, the Far East, North America, Europe, and so on (these last four are in country/region sectors in the fund categorisation.))

Lump sums can be added to any fund at any time - a good strategy if there is a market collapse as the time to buy quality funds is when everyone is doing a fire sale on the underlying shares.


* I invest with HL, which is my only connection with them. Very pleased with their services, costs and value though - well worth looking into as they rebate a lot of their initial commission and some of their annual commission, thus increasing the amount that gets invested, which means much better returns for the investor over the long term.

I am not really a fan of drip feeding from capital.

It's good to do from income and makes use of pound cost averaging but is a waste if you have built a reserve which is sat in the bank as it will only ensure your total investable assets earn a below inflation return (as deposit based saving is for the hard of thinking due to the minute returns).

Disagree. Investing is a long term thing and drip feeding is very suited to that. A lump sum put in today could be worth 50% of the capital invested in a couple of years - who knows what the future holds; funds, like shares, can go down in value! Drip feeding takes away that risk - as long as you sell at a market top, or at least when in good profit (one must allow for inflation and its depreciation of capital.)

 

[mickeyblueeyes]

Not an expert by any means ,in fact Ive made so many errors that I shouldnt have that Im surprised Ive got any money left
Heres a few thoughts which will probably be rejected by others in the know
I use a bank ,very easy to set up ,which charges me roughly 12 quid a transaction ... however If I dont do a transaction in a quarter I get charged 12 quid so I tend to do 1 at least ,there are others though that charge less
If your using a lot of money find a isa shares account you wont get taxed on it (I didnt and unless I sell up my trading account I cant move it now )
Dont go for tips in the press ,,, I used to use the mail share tips and every one of them has fallen massively
Dont listen to everybody who says theyve made stacks of cash ,its like gamblers they only talk about the winners
I started with Penny shares/Oil exploration so I dont really look at the dividends but if your buying blue chip keep an eye out for these .. research is the key plenty of sites there
Its worked for me ,, but only because I started taking a punt on lloyds for over 2 years otherwise I would be well down
Fingers crossed for the Falklands :-)

Was going to say this all day long your bank is the best bet really easy to set up (just done it with Lloyd's ) and start with penny shares. Good advice from CPA

 

[SWP's back]

Don't do shares mate, too expensive and risky for the novice investing small amounts of money.

Much more sensible would be to drip feed into a Stocks & Shares ISA. If you've put money into a Cash ISA this tax year, you'll be able to invest up to £5,760 (equivalent to half the annual ISA allowance) in a Stocks & Shares ISA. If you haven't done a Cash ISA this tax year, you can invest up to £11,520 in a Stocks & Shares ISA.

Drip feeding your money in, as opposed to investing a lump sum, means you won't be investing at the wrong time (top of the market). It also means you won't be investing at the exact right time (bottom of the market). But as no one can guess which way the market is heading, drip feeding is the 'safest' way to get your money in.

What to invest in depends on your age, attitude to risk and objectives. As I don't know these, I'll just give some general ideas using the Hargreaves Lansdown (HL*) site - and specifically the funds that HL rate highly as to show you all funds would just bewilder you:

• Income funds (a core holding for any type of investor; you don't have to take the income as income, you can have it reinvested).
• Global and Specialist funds (higher/high risk but potentially high returns, for the more risk tolerant investor with a long time horizon, ideal for drip feeding in money as the risk is spread in small amounts over the period of investment. I have invested in quite a few of these. There are other areas not in that HL list, such as healthcare, technology, Japan, the Far East, North America, Europe, and so on (these last four are in country/region sectors in the fund categorisation.))

Lump sums can be added to any fund at any time - a good strategy if there is a market collapse as the time to buy quality funds is when everyone is doing a fire sale on the underlying shares.


* I invest with HL, which is my only connection with them. Very pleased with their services, costs and value though - well worth looking into as they rebate a lot of their initial commission and some of their annual commission, thus increasing the amount that gets invested, which means much better returns for the investor over the long term.

I am not really a fan of drip feeding from capital.

It's good to do from income and makes use of pound cost averaging but is a waste if you have built a reserve which is sat in the bank as it will only ensure your total investable assets earn a below inflation return (as deposit based saving is for the hard of thinking due to the minute returns).

Disagree. Investing is a long term thing and drip feeding is very suited to that. A lump sum put in today could be worth 50% of the capital invested in a couple of years - who knows what the future holds; funds, like shares, can go down in value! Drip feeding takes away that risk - as long as you sell at a market top, or at least when in good profit (one must allow for inflation and its depreciation of capital.)

There are far better options for capital than drip feeding and whilst pound cost averaging reduces the risk, it DOES NOT take it away.

Put it this way, I would lose my license if I recommended a client to drip feed from capital.