Starting out - looking for your experiences

[Rememberwhatthedoorknobsaid]

I would like to become more active in investing in the stock market.

I already have a stocks and shares ISA with £24k which was set up through my employer as I have the option to buy shares at work. This fund is with a platform called EQI who I had no choice over - however when I looked into the detail I can see that they charge £11.99 per trade which seems alot when I am starting out and might want to make numerous low value investments while I find my feet. I am therefore considering leaving this alone and starting a separate fund to “play” with.

If I set up a new trading account am I right in thinking I would have to pay CGT on profit - is it too early to worry about this until I make enough to qualify?

Can I transfer investments from a new trading account to my S&S ISA if I dont use my £20k allowance with work? Ideally I would like to keep work and personal separate. I was looking into Robin Hood - can anyone vouch for it or suggest alternative?

I have £10k in premium bonds which I would like to invest. I am looking to make regular investments with surplus income. I want to be sensible/long term with the £10k so was considering an index considering my lack of experience and then have some “fun” with a small amount that I can afford to risk/lose.

I would love to hear your own stories/ experiences if you are an active investor. Why did you start? How long have you been investing? Do you have a strategy? What platform do you use? Do you have any advice for me?

I don’t do ‘fun’
Zero trading for me.

I do invest though, across ISAs, SIPP & GIA plus JISA for the ‘children’ and help them choose funds in their LISAs. For me it’s hard earned cash that I want to put to work. I have zero bonds it is all 100% equity. I have MMF for a rainy day in my GIA account.
I have everything with Vanguard bar the LISAs as they sadly don’t offer them. ‘Damien does money’ on YouTube talks of EQI & isn’t a fan. You’ll be able to move it. I’ll try find a link.

BUT, if you’re not keen on investing and want to trade & have ‘fun’ remember it’s risky and pretty similar to gambling. You could make absolutely zero and loose the 10k. You’d be better off popping it in a decent global tracker and watch it do its stuff. Rather than messing.

Hi @NotDonna !
thanks for replying, I had underestimated how quiet it is on the investment board!

I’ve had an interesting time since I posted! I gave up trying to do anything with equiniti and left all the sharesave stuff to do it’s thing. I decided to open a Trading212 account and I deposited £10 and bought a ridiculously small stake in a few stocks! I watched for a few days and adjusted my “pie” after listening to alot of podcasts! I then topped it up with £90 so total investment is £100. Currently trading with a 50p loss, mostly thanks to Tesla and Taylor Wimpey!

I can see why the advice is to stick to a fund and forget it and I will probably drain off my premium bonds into the S&P - the nail in the coffin came this month when I won £0. However, I am slightly worried about exposure to US markets.

Obviously the trend at the moment is AI and its associated industries ie. Energy and tech so I am thinking of researching a little more into this sector. Not looking at risking any serious money.

If you don’t want too heavy a US exposure you could consider FTSE Global All Cap - as the name suggests it includes all sized companies globally so a good mix. But you do need to leave these funds alone and let them do their thing for 10 years or so. I don’t have the All Cap as it was 0.23% ongoing. But in my portfolio I have a mix of funds - I like to be able to have more or less percentage if I desire. So, Develooed World ex Uk (heavy in US); FTSE All Share (all U.K.); then emerging markets. I’ve also got a boring money market fund. But these three seem to be bouncing along ok and are quite nicely priced. So you could look at index funds to give you the exposure you prefer (countries or industries).

Would you recommend withdrawing my premium bonds and investing with a lump sum or drip feed it into the fund with the intention of averaging out the price? Or is it largely irrelevant if its a long term investment?

Always a lump sum. It’s all about time in the market so the sooner it’s all in and the longer it stays in, the better. Needs to be five years plus btw. It’ll bounce up and down but the trajectory over a decent time frame should be good.