Investing In Shares

Randy

Randy

Well-known member
Good afternoon,

I've recently come about a bit of extra money, not a massive amount but have no need to really buy anything material I am interested in buying some shares and hoping they will make me so e money over the years. I know the downfalls too mind but don't know how one would go about buying shares?

Any of the board population help me out?
 
I'd agree with bear, buy regularly (monthly, say) into an index fund and if you do this over a good few years it will all add up nicely
 
RandySavage said:
I'd be looking for some advice wrapped up in a service aswell, i.e which shares to buy and sell, when to buy and sell etc.
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That would depend on your risk levels, if you are interested in dividends etc. At the end of the day it's your money I always think I'd rather research and lose or make my own money than taking advice and losing it then.

Etoro lets you copy other traders picks automatically so that may be one to look at. I like xo as its only £5.95 commision and I do my own research. Don't mind tips but I always look into them, i actually think the research bit is the most fun !
 
I've a decent sum in shares. Tbh I wish now that I had invested in low cost mutual funds. Really hard to predict at this level. Firms like vanguard are a great start (if you have them in the UK).
 
lostinyorkshire said:
That would depend on your risk levels, if you are interested in dividends etc. At the end of the day it's your money I always think I'd rather research and lose or make my own money than taking advice and losing it then.

Etoro lets you copy other traders picks automatically so that may be one to look at. I like xo as its only £5.95 commision and I do my own research. Don't mind tips but I always look into them, i actually think the research bit is the most fun !
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Yeah just looking to ease myself into it really having no prior experience of this sort of thing. So looking low risk and I'm not looking for immediate returns as I'm sure waiting longer would gain a higher reward yes?
Would be quite happy to invest some money and have someone else look after the ins and outs for me.
 
Definitely a stocks and shares isa, it makes you immune from capital gains tax on dividends and any profit you make from selling.

Definitely do your research and some isa you can get people to make the decisions for you.

It depends on what you are looking for, I inherited my gsk shares but I’d never sell them, they’ve fluctuated between £13 a share and £17 this year but pay me about £400 in dividends every quarter.
 
There is this long running debate about whether managed funds are worth having when most managers don't beat the index.
Vanguard have a reputation for low cost index trackers. That would be a good place to start until you get more savvy. Don't put all your cash in at one go. 'Drip feed' monthly installments. No one can time the market.
 
UKLL1981 said:
Definitely a stocks and shares isa, it makes you immune from capital gains tax on dividends and any profit you make from selling.
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Would I see my bank about that or could I find a firm online to set one of them up for me?
 
RandySavage said:
Would I see my bank about that or could I find a firm online to set one of them up for me?
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Most banks have them, if you have online banking you will be able see your stocks and shares isa online with all your normal accounts. Most charge a small annual fee and a fee per trade but you are talking a few quid. Pretty much every bank will have a stocks and shares isa.
 
UKLL1981 said:
Most banks have them, if you have online banking you will be able see your stocks and shares isa online with all your normal accounts. Most charge a small annual fee and a fee per trade but you are talking a few quid. Pretty much every bank will have a stocks and shares isa.
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Thanks. I'll have a look at my bank's stocks and shares ISA and see what's what.

Thanks to the other guys too for the input.
 
Decide how must you could afford to 'lose' and how much you want to keep safe/ safe-ish .
Depends on your individual circumstances and v what you feel comfortable with.
 
bear66 said:
Or a stocks and shares ISA and pick a fund which can manage shares better than most individuals (sometimes).
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Definitely a Stocks & Shares ISA. You can stick in £20k per year. Gains are Capital Gains Tax free. (You can't offset losses against tax though).

There are many platforms out there, but I'd recommend 'Interactive Investor' (iii.co.uk) They are one of the more reasonably priced.

Like bear66 says, I'd stick to funds rather than individual stocks. It's SO hard as a private investor to get the full inside track on a company, even if you do tonnes of research. I'd lean towards funds with low ongoing fees, as higher fees can kill your profits. Baillie Gifford have a few good ones. (Their 'Long Term Global Growth' has been flying this year. It's heavy on U.S tech, FAANGs stocks, Tesla and so on) - probably time for that run to lose a bit of momentum though!

Maybe pick a few market sectors, or global geographical regions, and then look up the best performing funds in those. If you diversify across several sectors and regions it will reduce your risk.

Also, most platforms will give you a risk profile of any funds that you might be looking at. Higher risk might mean higher reward, but obviously more chance that you could lose some of your capital on occasions. (ie. fall harder when the market goes down).
 
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The three biggest UK platforms are probably AJ Bell and Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor. They will allow you to set up an ISA account. You can put in up to £20k every tax year and manage the account online.

Personally I would only buy Investment Trusts or Open ended Funds if you are investing less than £100k overall. They are managed by professional managers so consist of many individual shares both factors which reduces risk.

Firstly buy tech related trust/fund, then green trust/fund, then a medical/pharm/biotech trust/fund - those themes will be around and popular for many years to come. Say this year put £6,666 in each area. The platforms will provide background to all trusts and funds, so do some research say on past performance. Compare funds/trusts performance over 1, 3 and 7 years. Measure like with like i.e. trusts/funds in same sector. Look for better than average performance over longer term say 3 to 7 years. The best time to buy is when everyone else is selling i.e. end of March 2020 and others think you have lost your marbles, but don't worry drip feed each month say £555 a month instead of £6.666 is usually a sound strategy as another poster suggested.
 
To save you some time... Put it all on black and cross your fingers.. 👀

Or by a classic car to enjoy whilst it appreciates if you select it right!
 
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