investment novice - tracker guidance please

tradetime

indebtbigtime wrote: »

its not clear how I purchase or what the minimums are - anyone know if this company is reputable?

thanks

http://uk.ishares.com/fund/fund_overview.do?fundId=157498
Under product details, minimum purchase is 1 share, you would purchase them through a broker. They are owned by Barclays Global, so as reputable as they are.

indebtbigtime

thank you - how do I go about finding a broker to make the purchase

i looked on the Barclays global website - clicked on etf but it just links back to the ishare site

thanks in advance

tradetime

how do I go about finding a broker to make the purchase

Well if I was doing it for the first time, I'd probably type something like "stock broker+uk" into google and see what came up. I'm sure there are a few searches one could do on this site, I'll bet it's been discussed on here before. Ones that spring to mind are
Selftrade
E-Trade UK
T D Waterhouse

Blah99

indebtbigtime wrote: »

thank you - how do I go about finding a broker to make the purchase

i looked on the Barclays global website - clicked on etf but it just links back to the ishare site

thanks in advance

Right, wait. I retract my previous suggestion. This thread started off in a manner that suggested you knew the facts. However you clearly don't know how to go about doing this, which implies you don't understand how to buy equities, how stock markets work nor precisely how an ETF tracker works.

Before you sign up with a broker and press the buy button please do some research. I realise you think you know what you want and you believe you're buying an ETF, but you need to learn how equities work first. Go to Amazon and buy "The Naked Trader 2" by Robbie Burns. It will take you 6 to 12 hours to read through the basics, and those hours will be the best investment you can make.

dunstonh

....hence why I suggested that savings accounts should be stuck with.

Inexperienced investor. Needs access to funds (suggests no emergency fund) and a timescale of 2 years or less. That isnt investing. That is taking a high risk punt.

tradetime

Right, wait. I retract my previous suggestion. This thread started off in a manner that suggested you knew the facts.

LOL, unless he has a dark sense of humour then the username should be enough to suggest perhaps there are more pressing matters to attend to than the stock market, and probably fits more with someone apt to take punts.

Blah99

tradetime wrote: »

LOL, unless he has a dark sense of humour then the username should be enough to suggest perhaps there are more pressing matters to attend to than the stock market, and probably fits more with someone apt to take punts.

I didn't even spot the username, doh. He said the right things in the first post so I assumed he had some knowledge, but it all went downhill from there....

a7man

Why all the negativity? Its his money and its what he's decided to do with it. Yes you can go by the book with the 5 yr minimum term etc etc but he doesnt want to. I would say you would probably have more fun playing poker though...

Blah99

a7man wrote: »

Why all the negativity? Its his money and its what he's decided to do with it. Yes you can go by the book with the 5 yr minimum term etc etc but he doesnt want to. I would say you would probably have more fun playing poker though...

Because if I'm going to give my opinion and advice, I'd like to ensure as far as possible that it's the right kind of advice and is actually beneficial to the recipient. The correct advice in this situation is for the original poster to take a step back and do some research before reconsidering their approach. "The book" doesn't come into it, and neither does a "5 yr minimum term" (shortest time I've ever held a share is about 45mins).

Of course I could blindly tell him how to do what he's asked, or just tell him to buy a billion Dixons Group shares, but then I'd just be posting crap.

indebtbigtime

hi, sorry been away

i am not an e3xpert by any sense of the word. over the years i have held many different individual shares - admittedly not with huge success.

having seen recent falls in equities - including my employers with whom i hold various options and share schemes which at peak were around 10 k and are now worth around 3k, i would like to play the swing factor. i just think equities are low and would be suprised if over the next 2 yrs we dont see a rise of circa 25-35%

of course its a punt - ill informed by a novice

buying shares is to joe public like me far simpler and more accessible than these etfs e=- hence all the questions

meanwhile thqnks for your guidance