To want to dabble in stocks and shares

[chillimartini]

I know nothing about this area but really want to learn! Can anyone give me any pointers? Reliable websites etc.
I don't have much to invest...just penny shares / low cost shares really!

The Telegraph has good tips. Especially on a Sunday. Use a platform like Hargreaves Lansdown and put in in a stocks and shares isa wrapper.

With charges it’s not usually worth really small amounts to be honest
If you have a few hundred £ or more look at Hargreaves lansdown

Don't buy individual shares if you are just starting out. Use mutual funds to diversify. They can be bought in small amounts. Vanguard is a huge, highly regarded American investment firm. I've been with them for 30 years and they're brilliant with excellent service. They also operate in the UK:

www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/

Take a look at the investing education section on their website.

@chillimartini

I know nothing about this area but really want to learn! Can anyone give me any pointers? Reliable websites etc. I don't have much to invest...just penny shares / low cost shares really!

Trade212 is a good platform fee free for trading and also has fractional shares.

So you won't need to play with risky pens shares you can buy fractions of better companies.

Have a read up on etfs (exchange traded funds) that track major indexes. S&p500 is the usual favorite (Warren buffet says his wife's money should be invested 90% there and 10% bonds which is pretty simple).

Stock picking over time hardly ever beats the market so indexes are a nice simple way to get into it without having to do masses of research into companies.

Oh and when you start googling the motley fool will come up a lot them and sites like them are often just pump and dumping stocks so be warey

@Hoppinggreen

With charges it’s not usually worth really small amounts to be honest If you have a few hundred £ or more look at Hargreaves lansdown

Hargreaves and thier fee per trade is outdated now plenty of fee free providers now

don't buy individual shares, that is just gambling.

put your money in a low-cost tracker like Nutmeg and then leave it there to grow.

Looks like some good advice here

Remember to use your ISA allowance so you don't get stung with capital gains tax when you sell.

Vanguard and Blackrock are the 2 providers that offer low cost index funds. Personally, I'd go for a fund with global exposure. Look up Vanguard LifeStrategy fund and their fact sheet which explains what it is about.

I am like you op,
I have been thinking for a over a year that I would like to start som type of investment but have no idea where to begin.

I think I could probably invest 500-1000 as an experiment but I am completely in the dark about how to go about it. Or even which place to use.

Trading 212 is really good.

@Ginkypig

I am like you op, I have been thinking for a over a year that I would like to start som type of investment but have no idea where to begin.

I think I could probably invest 500-1000 as an experiment but I am completely in the dark about how to go about it. Or even which place to use.

Check the trading 212 forums. They have "pies" automated investments in a basket of shwres/indexes you choose but you can share them so you can see what others have been doing.

Oh if its i.portant to you there's lots of esg/sri funds now that only track the companies int he index that act with certain ethics (gender pay, carbon emissions, workers rights etc) tend to be more expensive though but seem to out perform the market in emerging markets

Also interested in this...bought a book and read it but still haven't bought any shares... well I did get the free Halifax and abbey national ones years ago... bought a few more but sold the lot after maybe 5 years and made good profit...they plummeted a few years ago so was lucky to get rid before they dropped !

Following with interest!

Plum is easy to use!
Very happy with it so far!

Best advice is never invest more than you can afford to lose.
DH Lost 25k one day a few years ago that was a bad day but we paid our entire mortgage off in about 5 years as had some luck. We both started investing when we were teenagers.

Our money isn’t doing much currently it all feels a bit too risky though there will be people making huge amounts.

Great advice from PP about buying baskets of investments rather than specific stocks. The most efficient way to do this is through ETFs, which stands for ‘exchange traded funds’. They track an index such as the FTSE 100 or S&P500. It spreads your risk. They are also called ‘passive investments’ as you don’t have a fund manager sitting there picking the stocks for you. Because of this, they are cheaper than buying a traditional mutual fund. With a mutual fund, or ‘active fund’, some of your money goes towards paying the fund manager to pick the stocks for you. There are positives to both, but if you’re starting off I’d probably stick with ETFs. The largest players are companies such as iShares, SPDR and Vanguard. They all have very similar products.

Also, invest for the long term. Don’t get spooked by market fluctuations like we saw when COVID hit. That’s the worst time to sell. The absolute basic advice is buy when the market is low and sell when it’s high, but it’s all to easy to sell when the market drops. Try to ride it out and, generally speaking, it will recover. I use Morningstar to check prices and they have good analysis too.

Source: I work in investments.

@Nitflux

Great advice from PP about buying baskets of investments rather than specific stocks. The most efficient way to do this is through ETFs, which stands for ‘exchange traded funds’. They track an index such as the FTSE 100 or S&P500. It spreads your risk. They are also called ‘passive investments’ as you don’t have a fund manager sitting there picking the stocks for you. Because of this, they are cheaper than buying a traditional mutual fund. With a mutual fund, or ‘active fund’, some of your money goes towards paying the fund manager to pick the stocks for you. There are positives to both, but if you’re starting off I’d probably stick with ETFs. The largest players are companies such as iShares, SPDR and Vanguard. They all have very similar products.

Also, invest for the long term. Don’t get spooked by market fluctuations like we saw when COVID hit. That’s the worst time to sell. The absolute basic advice is buy when the market is low and sell when it’s high, but it’s all to easy to sell when the market drops. Try to ride it out and, generally speaking, it will recover. I use Morningstar to check prices and they have good analysis too.

Source: I work in investments.

What do you think to the baillie gifford funds.

I've been interested in the China growth fund, as the Chinese Market seems a bit opaque

It's so easy to do nowadays with apps. I started last year and made 8k without really knowing much about it. Go for it!

garlic what apps do you mean?

I recently invested in vanguard etf's after watching lots of youtube - Your Average Investor is quite helpful. To be honest I don't really understand it all but there's so little return on savings I thought I'd try. My plan is to 'pound cost average' which means investing a sum every month and basically so this for 10-15 years. I won't have mega bucks - but my return is currently 2.85% and this beats any building society. I initially nvested 4K across 4 different funds and I am putting £400 away every month. I am really lucky as I have a new job and committed to saving the extra income instead of spaffing it. Good luck!

Do not dabble in single stocks. Invest in global, well diversified funds, where you are buying a little bit of many thousands of companies.
Use your tax efficient wrappers, such as ISA, so gains are not taxable.
Spend time learning about how to invest. There are some very good UK based podcasts providing guidance to beginner investors.
Two to get you started:
www.meaningfulmoney.tv
www.moneytothemasses.com

We have some money in Ethereum - a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin. It’s zoomed up in value over last while. However it would be nerve wracking to have a lot of money in it ! It zooms down rapidly as well.

@Sinful8 hard to say how that would fit into your overall portfolio without knowing what else you own. You’re right in that the China market seems opaque. It also saw huge growth over the past 15 years but it may be that we’ve missed that huge trajectory and are now investing in the top of the market when it’s at its most expensive.

I’d have no qualms investing with Baillie Gifford, it’s just the China piece I’d want to research more.

There’s probably a place in a portfolio for all investment types, but I wouldn’t want to say “buy it!” without knowing what else is in your portfolio. Always good to spread risk within your investments, especially in the following ways:

• Geographically (UK, US, Emerging Markets, etc)
• Product type (mutual funds, ETFs)
• Asset class (stocks (also called equities), bonds (also called fixed income), alternatives)

In basic terms, don’t have all your eggs in one basket.

I have an account with HL, stocks and shares ISA.
Mange my own account.
Pictet Global Environmental Opportunities.
Black Rock Sustainable Energy.

Both strong performers..