Advice on shares please

Funky_Gibbon

I've got a few hundred pounds that I'm considering investing in shares in RBS now that they are so low but I know absolutely nothing about buying and selling shares. Could anyone answer a few questions?

If you open a share trading account (say an online flat fee commission account like at Hoodless Brennan) do you have to buy and sell shares regularly or can you buy shares once and then hold onto them until you decide to sell, no matter how long that may be?

Is there a lower limit on the amount of shares that someone can buy?

Can you recommend any company who will take on a small investor at a minimum cost to me?


Thanks for any advice you have.

mrposhman

I think any of them will take you on. At the end of the day, you will still be paying the flat commission fee.

i would check whether they charge fees for a lack of trading. I'm not sure hoodless brennan do but I trade through my bank (Natwest) and they charge if you do not trade in a month but only if your stocks are under a certain value which I think is £3000.

From what I know hoodless brennan would be a good bet for you. As you are investing a relatively small sum of money you need to look for the cheapest commission rates too as they will affect your actual stock value more than they would for a larger investment.

Farway

You could also check out iii & Selftrade, I use the latter and they do not charge a "non activity fee"

They charge flat rate £12.50 plus stamp duty at i think 0.5% of value [this is a tax on buying shares, which all will have to charge]

Funky_Gibbon

I'll look into them thank you both.

Stewster

Halifax share dealing are worth checking out as well. They charge £11.95 per trade plus stamp duty. I have had an account with them for a couple of years now (they managed my company's sharesave accounts) and as far as I am aware (i have bought regularly tho) they don't charge a non-dealing fee if you don't trade in a month.

CluelessJock

RBS shares are so low as they are being sold, investors are selling for a reason. Because they are so low does not automatically make them a good buy.

scrooge2008

RBS shares are a huge gamble. I've watched all the way down people saying "these can't get any cheaper", and throwing money at them, and by gum down they go.

If you do "invest in RBS" make sure it is money that you can afford to lose. Be prepared to mentally lose it all, then you will not be disappointed. If you've bought at the bottom and can watch it become a multi-bagger (also a possibility), then the gamble has paid off. Alternatively, place a stop loss on your trade.

As previous poster mentioned Halifax are good for small trades.

5562

I have sent a PM to you which may be of interest to you.

SeanW

Hoodless Brennan did introduce a quarterlery charge where no trades made, but I can't see that on their site anymore, so they may have removed it again?

Funky_Gibbon

scrooge2008 wrote: »

RBS shares are a huge gamble. I've watched all the way down people saying "these can't get any cheaper", and throwing money at them, and by gum down they go.

If you do "invest in RBS" make sure it is money that you can afford to lose. Be prepared to mentally lose it all, then you will not be disappointed. If you've bought at the bottom and can watch it become a multi-bagger (also a possibility), then the gamble has paid off. Alternatively, place a stop loss on your trade.

As previous poster mentioned Halifax are good for small trades.

I am prepared to lose it all if it comes to that, that's why I'm only willing to spend a few hundred. If I do go ahead with it I'm not looking to make a quick return, I'm happy to hold onto it for a long time if I can find the right broker.

If the worst comes to the worst, I'll have only have had my fingers burnt on a small amount so I'll put it down to experience and move on.

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

Blah99

Funky_Gibbon wrote: »

IIf the worst comes to the worst, I'll have only have had my fingers burnt on a small amount so I'll put it down to experience and move on.

This isn't the way to gain experience, you're taking a blind gamble without understanding how the game is played. It's like walking into a casino, putting your money down on a craps table and standing back. Yeah, I don't know how to play craps either...