Shares, how do I start? – numpty question.

Yep, have a £100, want to buy some, what’s the next step? Do I go to the bank? Post Office? Do I need any papers/documents?

Not having any personal experience of buying shares, I can’t really give you any solid advice about the method.

But given the current economic climate I can tell you to spend your £100 on your bike instead. Whatever you buy will give you some enjoyment, and you will derive usefulness from it, and it will probably have a resale value in a years time.

Buying shares right now is way too much of a lottery, even the “Rock steady” industries of old have all taken massive dives over the last few months etc. The time to buy shares is when the market has definitely bottomed (ie. not yet), and then buy them quick before they go up too much!

Besides, £100 really is a bit of a non starter. Even if you did well, you’d be looking at perhaps £500 in a couple of years time. I’d rather put the money on a horse (or even better, spend it on my bike!).

If you had £100k though, I have a few friends I could point you in their direction that are investment portfolio managers.

I’d look at buying into a ‘tracker’ fund (ie one that follows the price of a wide range of shares rather than just one company). Fidelity’s Moneybuilder has the lowest management charges. Don’t forget to invest your money as part of a stocks and shares ISA – you can invest up to £3,600 a year with no tax to pay. It would make most sense to set up a regular savings scheme.

But remember that shares are a long term investment and you should make sure you have enough ‘rainy-day money’ in a decent interest-bearing savings first.

Bank shares are always a safe bet.

or car manufacturers

Currency futures is where it’s at.
Personally I’m investing in pebbles and sea shells.

If you really want to buy shares then just go and do it

You can walk into the bank but they will take £££ in commission for buying and selling

Your best bet would be to set up an online account
Google it

Youll get better commission online but t will still eat up a chunk of 100 quid – dont forget the selling fee too

I have made and lost money on shares having played years ago
Its a bit like the bookies really, if it was that easy wed all be rich

I had a good run, got out half then a bad run nuked the rest

It was fun but Im not bothered about doing it again

Id say go for it but only if you are the kind of person who likes a punt on a random horse now and again
And dont expect to see your ton back

Seriously it was a hobby for me, much as some people bet on horses or piss it away down the pub

Dont do it to get rich, and dont throw good money after bad to recoup your losses

🙂

Someone worked out that investing £1000 in Tennents lager, drinking it and then selling the cans for recycling would have got you a better return than Northern Rock shares.

If you must, The Naked Trader is a reasonable place to find information.

Yep, I was going to suggest The Naked Trader book.

Minimum sensible investment really is £500 or more, as it’ll cost you at least £10 to buy and £10 to sell so your shares need to do well to recover that cost.

I have bought and sold shares in the past while not really knowing what I was doing. Some went from 60p to £2 and some, erm, didn’t. I made enough to buy a few bits and pieces, but until things even out on the stock markets I wouldn’t even consider it.
Saying that…….if you are a gambling man, then now is a good time to invest as everything is low. So long as the company you buy shares in doesn’t go bust, then there is a good chance that the shares will gain in value just on the back of the stock market going up when this whole mess sorts itself out.

I’m thinking of buying some shares now and keeping them for a while. If they gain value fine, if they lose I won’t be selling.

Hairychested google for an online broker and set an account up and then choose a stock, if it’s long term then now’s as good a time as any, especially a cash is earning next to nowt in the bank right now.

As also mentioned is funds or a tracker but some have a minimum lump sum investment so watch for that.

Good luck it can be fun and it can be dissapointing 🙂

Would you recommend a broker? A no-frills one ideally. I’ll be investing £100 every now and then.

I use http://www.iii.co.uk and do it all online.

I use my bank but I don’t think they are the cheapest it’s just suit’s me think it’s like a tenner a trade, I’d go with Stumpy01’s suggestion not heard bad things about iii, I had TD Waterhouse account but found them hardwork and they wanted to charge for non-activity not sure if they still do.

I’d invest in the banks again once the market has bottomed. Once people start buying houses again would probably be a good time.

RBS seems like a good bet, but if they are nationalised fully, I don’t know what that means for the shares.

HSBC claim not to have been affected too much. Their shares are <£5 and have been at £11 in the past. I’d bet on them in a few months time, depending what happens.

Not sure why your bothering with investing £100 unless you think it’ll be fun. Trading costs will be too high to make it worthwhile and you’re likely to need many years to show a profit over what a cash ISA would give you. Regularly investing £25/month into an ISA Unit Trust FTSE tracker is probably the only sensible option using someone like these guys:

http://www.h-l.co.uk/%5B/url%5D

jimmy – Member

RBS seems like a good bet, but if they are nationalised fully, I don’t know what that means for the shares.

That means you’ll likely lose the lot. There may be an opportunity to recoup a little of your losses some way down the line….

i use http://www.selftrade.co.uk

I’ve been buying taylor wimpey and rbs recently. Just remember its basically gambling.

Vodafone may be worth watching

I worked for a CFD trading company for a number of years. Our expectation was that 95% of trades would lose money or break even. Given some of the messes our customers got themselves into, I’d certainly recommend avoiding spread trading, and be aware, like others have said that it’s basically like betting on the horses.

Oh, and the City is FULL of people passing on tips so don’t assume that a mate giving you a scoop is actually a scoop, all too often you’re just allowing the traders to get out before it goes down (or up) again.

if you only have a hundred quid i’d not bother, but it is addictive, and watch out for the boiler rooms – once your name appears on a share reg. they’ll track you down and con you.

jonjon, thanks for the warning. I’ve chosen a DIY account and as a numpty will be choosing whatever I fancy. From time to time I’ll buy some shares for keeps. Should be fun.