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I like total, a past employer was taken over by them so i sold my shares and bought property. If Total have less than quadrupled in 20 years it would have been a bad deal...but i never look back i had to live somewhere.
I just put a bid on to buy some ng national grid.
I use III for both my SIPP and ISA. Most of my investments across both have been in Fundsmith only. Not very diverse (other than the diversity in the fund itself) however I monitor it closely and have been in Fundsmith since day 1 which has more than doubled in that period with an annual return average of over 20%
invest in the future; battery technology, tidal power, lithium mines or salt flats, solar, wind etc.
I take it you weren't around during the technology bubble period.
These are a very very long way from being in bubble territory, more's the pity...
I,m currently a short term investor having held my shares for only four years.One of my favourites is Provident Financial.I like a business that has made a profit every year since 1886!Another of my greatest hits is RIT Capital Partners,I dont mind having my money in the same place as Lord Rothschild.Neil.
I've managed an ISA for my wife and I for a few years, have a buy to let place and 6 angel investments, and try to keep on top of them all....not always as well as I should.
My top few recommendations:
- Learn as much as possible - read books, newspaper, articles etc. What impacts the share price of each company....what is a high and low price for that company....how is a company valued? I made quite a bit trading (over months not days) a bank as market sentiment to banks changed over time, but the fundamental performance of the bank continued to improve, so at certain points in time sentiment generaly was ok, sentiment on that bank was OK, and I sold
- Always focus and understand the fundamentals - over time things like how much cash a business is making is always going to be key to the valuation
- Always have an investment thesis and keep testing / trying to validate it i.e. know why you are buying something and watch these "drivers" / "levers" carefully
- Cut your losses - I've hung onto a few things too long and lost a lot more than I should / could have done. Whilst taking a loss always stings, losing thousands hurts more than hundreds (but don't panic and sell too soon!)
- It's difficult but not impossible to "beat the market" but you need to work hard at it. If you're not interested, fairly smart, or have enough time, then invest in funds, not individual shares
- Get into a routine. I used to spend 7 - 8am every morning focused on my ISAs and as soon as I slipped out of that pattern, my investment performance slipped
- Be very clear with yourself if the investment thesis is as simple as momentum....will there be another investor ready to buy when you want to sell? However, I'm happy to dip into a momentum trade once I've done my research
- Get some help - I can recommend the Motley Fool subscription services. Yes, some recommendations will fall, but as a portfolio you should be OK, and they have a very good track record...and you'll learn a lot if you put the effort in. They help me a lot by creating a pool of possible investments to consider
- Learn to use the tools at your disposal - E.g. HL allows you to set up trailing stop losses, alerts etc (although not on US shares unfortunately)
- Shares can plummet in value as well as go down - Get ready for some surprises but these times might be either (i) a clear warning sign others saw first (ii) a buying opportunity. Only careful research will help you to know which.
- Time in the market is key - One of the biggest advantages little guys like us can have over the big boys with their endless budgets, huge amount of tech, huge support teams etc, is that we're not assessed every quarter and year...we can afford to take a little longer
Hope that helps those looking to start out. Despite a few complete losses, I've made a lot more than I've lost overall and I think of this as learning a life skill...one that I can use long after I've stopped working 9 - 5 if I wanted to. It's also something I'm slowly introducing to my kids ...one of whom thinks she's bought a share in one of my angel investments, and she's enjoying learning how they are getting on.
How do you know at what level to set stop losses at smurf?Smaller companies and emerging markets for example are extremely volatile.All stop loss percentages to mean seem a bit arbitrary.I know many bail at a loss of 20% from their initial purchase price but this surely doesn't allow for periodic corrections.Let alone regular bear markets.
@ monkeycmonkeydo
Stop losses - it depends on what my thesis / plan is.
Sometimes it's just above what I paid so I know I won't end up with a loss if all hell breaks out. Sometimes, it's only 10 - 20% lower than the current price if I think the price is getting way too high for the fundamentals and I think there is going to be a correction e.g. results announcement is due shortly.
I don't tend to use them that often though as I tend to buy and hold.
Provident Financial is a fantastic business - just pray none of the lefties look into what they do.
We have a Tory gov't.Non of the previous labour governments (some of whom have even been lefty's)have ever touched the provy.Study history.
535.3% APR - fairly obvious 😀
mefty - Member
Provident Financial is a fantastic business - just pray none of the lefties look into what they do
We have a Tory gov't.Non of the previous labour governments (some of whom have even been lefty's)have ever touched the provy.Study history.
Mate, my old firm ran their debt syndicate in the 90s, it is a great business.
I think with the volatility of volatility increasing lately I would have thought stop losses are almost impossible to set.
Another vote for the Motley Fool website. Worth a subscription.
I listen to the Motley fool podcast.The Moneytree podcast is better IMO.
Any thoughts on Vodafone? Price relatively low, dividends of 5.5%
Shit coverage round here 🙂
I used to trade Cryptocurrencies e.g. Bitcoin, Litecoin, NMC, etc. I did OK with it and spent ~30 mins a day trading.
Rather problematically, one of the biggest trading platforms went awol and what I had left in my account with it went too. Thankfully, I only lost about 1% of my trading pot.
Imo, a nice alternative to traditional stock markets assuming you are sensible and use an established trading platform and an offline cold-store for the bulk of your funds.
Wahey!Shit coverage round here
Ummm...Judging by my dealings with Vodafone,I wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.
Anybody here subscribe to the Motley Fool? Any the tips any good?
Finally got round to opening the ISA. Anyone want to recommend some funds I should look at?
Mines with fundsmith. Excellent last year and very good performance since the fund started.
Not sure if I should be diversifying more, the fund is already diverse to some extent. It does feel a bit eggs in one basket but the returns have been great. Might try another next tax year. As you can guess I know nothing.
Finally got round to opening the ISA. Anyone want to recommend some funds I should look at?
Don't rush to buy a load of funds all at once. Pick them up when you think they're cheap or drip feed into them with a regular investment scheme.
Trustnet.com gives league tables of funds by geography and industry.
I've had recent good returns from:
Black Rock World Mining
GS India
Legg Mason Japan
Baillie Gifford Japan Small Cos/ Shin Nippon
Baring Emerging Europe
Scottish Mortgage
Pictet Robotics
Man GLG Europe
I still believe in them and still hold them, though that is no guarantee of future gains, particularly at the moment!
Healthcare and Biotech might be worth looking at. I'm avoiding property at the moment though over the last ten years, up until 18 months ago, It's been fantastic!
Stay diversified. Provided more holdings are going up than down, you're laughing!
Motley Fool subscriber here. I am no expert but I do feel they offer some of the best guidance around. Be aware they will keep trying to sell you their 'premium' advisor products once you join. I just ignore these and stick to the basic service.