Buying shares for the first time into BP

Mols

Hi jellybean09

I too would like to start investing and am a total novice.

I bought a couple of good books to learn some basics and also have a fantasy trader account running from the Halifax website (sorry as a new user I can't paste the link but you access it from the Share Dealing link on their website)

The 'give' you £10000.00 to play with so you get a feel for what it's actually like to buy shares. All the costs are included in the transactions i.e. fees and stamp duty.

Based on my decisions so far I'm still not quite ready to invest our hard earned money but it's a fun way to learn!

Hope this helps

Mols

Theyarv1

I just started a couple of weeks ago with III as well, having never had investing experience - they seem easy enough, tho a little fiddly until you get used to it - can't compare them against anything else fyi. However it may take you a few days to get started as they send you your account details by post, so you can't just start the next day.

Mols mentions the HFX fantasy sharebuilder, I have to say that it never added up for me and always looked wrong.

As mentioned below, have a look at a few other forums that are shares specific, some have beginners sections. Also have a look at yahoo shares to look at how the bid and ask prices can be different and for news perhaps. I've been trying to buy shares in a specific company but the prices are 23p and 27p which is a whopping loss before the first minute is up.

As mentioned, if you are 'happy' (comfortable may be a better word:rotfl:) with losing the £3k, then go for it, and maybe even wrap it in an ISA if they allow it (not worked out which shares are allowed), if you are happy to hold on to them for longer than your original year and invest more often, it may add some decent value if the shares are doing well. I for one will wait until they plug the leak, and buy at 450 or whatever they would be once that happens, and lose the 50% from the 300 they are now

stator

I would say that if you want to hold the shares for 10years BP might be a good buy. But as above when investing in individual shares you have to be prepared to lose ALL of your money.

The stock market is a bit like those poker tournaments though, the professionals make money by taking it off of the amateurs who don't know what they are doing.

StevieJ

leahciM wrote: »

to OP, you need to think seriously about what you are trying to achieve through your investments.

The extent of the BP disaster is not yet known, there's still lawsuits, clean up, compensation to pay and that's not even including the fact that the well has not been plugged yet.

In reality, I do not think that BP shares will not 'bounce' back to anywhere near where they were pre-crisis for another 3-5 years as there is just too much direct and collateral damage from the spill.

With all this is mind, BP's shares are,as Ivader put it so well, a gamble rather than an investment, and I can't imagine that you're running down to the local bookies to whack three grand on who's going to win the world cup?

.

So BP were an investment before the well blew? well that investment has lost well over 50% maybe a gamble is in order

ghostbusters

i brought BP when they were at 500p after the well blew... thinking that they stay around that point... I am currently down £4000 on a £10,000 investment... it was a gamble on my part.. i think I am losing :-)

sabretoothtigger

Owch, its not the price that matters so much (unless you have to sell soon) worry about the actual company value and ability to return a profit, etc

I reckon scaling in or regular investment is best for us small investors. So 1k per week I would have said would have improved the odds of success, I almost always aim to scale in and out because the one off buy or sell has proved so risky in the past for me

Im expecting it to be in the mid two hundreds at some point now. 365 was a critical point that failed to hold so some way below that should be the low at least. Jim Rogers says he wont buy till they stop the leak, probably very good advice really

MacsReturns

Sabretoothtigger wrote:

Im expecting it to be in the mid two hundreds at some point now.

Oh, tigger, wish you hadn't said that, I was pretty sure 300 would be as low as it could go, and punted appropriately But yeah, it is a risk and I think it's pretty even between them rebounding to 'historic' prices or going bankrupt. PERSONALLY I hope they're holding out, taking all the heat now, and once the well is capped they are going to turn around and sue the backsides off Haliburton and Transocean...

Ultimately, if this whole scenario gets as bad as it could then losing a few quid on a bad investment is going to be the least of our worries.

sabretoothtigger

Haliburton were just contractors, they are suing Anadarko Petroleum Corporation first because they are partners though I think they were silent partners
Price is just a number at this point, the start of August is when hopes of relief wells comes into the picture so it could make sense if price declined upto that point

I bought some at 365 as that was a reasonable level but Im not that surprised it hasnt stopped dropping because its not moving according to normal valuations since bp debts are unknown
Bonds are probably safer then shares at this point and probably give a similar yield?

Discussion of fund managers who have sold bp and 'caused' the low price : http://www.citywire.co.uk/money/my-bp-lesson-leave-stockpicking-to-the-pros/a408141/2?ref=citywire-money-shooting-gallery-list

These big money people sold out of barclays too, with enough fear anything is possible. Low price doesnt mean they doomed exactly but its being considered just like barc was (incorrectly)

I remember peston spoke some sense on that at the time, his last weeks comment: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/robertpeston/2010/06/haywards_departure_not_if_but.html