Advice sought

Lokolo

darkpool wrote: »

i think an investment rookie could read/ study an investment book in a couple of days, then learn more while actually investing.

how long do you think it takes for someone to grasp the concept of dividends? i think i could explain it in a couple of minutes.

And dividend taxes, tax credit, difference between ex-dividend and payment date, settling times for shares so you know if you are entitled to a dividend etc.

Yes, 2 days for the VERY basic, a dividend is a form of income sort of thing. But to understand asset allocation, tax, allowance etc. takes more than a couple of days.

atush

Back to the OP's question (and for the record by and large have found the postings of IFAs here to be very helpful and informative).

AS well as looking at large international companies mentionned (some of whm are great values after recnet falls) do look at dividend income as well as possible growth. Also look at investments trusts (which trade as shares do so you can buy them) which can give you more stable investments( because each holds shares in many other companies) and can also give you access to foriegn markets.

Generally I only buy in the smallest quantity of 500-1000 quids worth, but with 'free' trades you can start smaller. With most companies youc an choose to automatically reinvest your dividends in the same company, or you can save them up and buy more shares in something new.

Lokolo

atush wrote: »

Back to the OP's question (and for the record by and large have found the postings of IFAs here to be very helpful and informative).

AS well as looking at large international companies mentionned (some of whm are great values after recnet falls) do look at dividend income as well as possible growth. Also look at investments trusts (which trade as shares do so you can buy them) which can give you more stable investments( because each holds shares in many other companies) and can also give you access to foriegn markets.

Generally I only buy in the smallest quantity of 500-1000 quids worth, but with 'free' trades you can start smaller. With most companies youc an choose to automatically reinvest your dividends in the same company, or you can save them up and buy more shares in something new.

The free trades only last 3 months. So if the OP buys smaller values, unless he sells before the 3 months the selling cost would wipe out any dividend and gains (unless he buys Lloyds and they obviously double or something!).

atush

True, but I was thinking buy and hold some things like say VOD, GSK, Shell, Tesco etc. then you wouldn't have to worry so much about selling costs. I hold Shell and VOD which I bought after 9/11 so have held them long term. I bought Tesco during the tech boom but sold them at a profit years later. Can't remember the price, I must remember to look it up so I can torture myself for not holding long term lol.

Anything more speculative would need to be bought in larger chunks keeping your selling costs in mind should you decide to change direction and sell.

BLB53

I must object to the IFA-bashing here. None of the respondents know the circumstances of the OP, so nobody can say whether £1000 and £100 per month is a significant sum to the individual or not. People saying "You don't need an adviser for such a small amount" need to get over themselves and this hatred of advisers.

Meeper,
I really don't think anything expressed so far can in any way be construed as a 'hatred of advisers'.
People come on these public forums with all sorts of requests for advice. Usually there is a diverse reponse from a whole range of people who generally just want to help. To my mind, this is the strength of these forums in that anyone is free to contribute - the more the merrier - and the OP is free to consider all the responses and hopefully be assisted.
Some may say seek the help of a financial adviser - fine, others may say take the DIY approach -again, fine its just a difference of opinion.
When I suggest DIY and offer up a couple of websites to do further research, its not because I 'hate' or want to 'bash' IFAs, its more that I personally think it is very empowering for others to take more responsibility for financial decision-making.
With all the information freely available on the web these days, its very easy to get the basics of investing - certainly to the stage where you can make a much better informed decision as to whether or not you may need to consult a financial adviser.

browniej

BLB53 wrote: »

Meeper,
I really don't think anything expressed so far can in any way be construed as a 'hatred of advisers'.

So you obviously consider this helpful and constructive?

Rollinghome wrote: »

Disregard the self-promoting nonsense posted above by the "financial adviser". Most financial advisers wouldn't have a clue about investing their own money directly in equities let alone yours.

I'm not sure I do.

When I suggest DIY and offer up a couple of websites to do further research, its not because I 'hate' or want to 'bash' IFAs, its more that I personally think it is very empowering for others to take more responsibility for financial decision-making.

That's fine and I'm sure the IFAs who post here would be more than happy with those kinds of responses.

darkpool

browniej wrote: »

So you obviously consider this helpful and constructive?

I'm not sure I do.

tbh i found it helpful and constructive. be honest, the ifas have responded to the OP as if he's crazy for wanting to invest his money himself.

it seems like the OP realises that financial experts don't have a crystal ball telling them the best way to invest.

if these financial experts were so good they would have seen all these financial crisises coming. after all i thought that was why they charged the big fees.....

jem16

darkpool wrote: »

tbh i found it helpful and constructive.

Not surprisingly given your other posts.

the ifas have responded to the OP as if he's crazy for wanting to invest his money himself.

IFAs? I only saw one who thought the OP should consult an adviser. Who were the others?

if these financial experts were so good they would have seen all these financial crisises coming. after all i thought that was why they charged the big fees.....

Now that is crazy........

qpop

Quite frankly beginner private investors who self invest, with very little knowledge, line the pockets of the "city boys" (institutional investors, market makers etc.) far more willingly than those who visit IFAs.

The investment is usually done with nothing much but emotion, high fees (proportionally) are paid (£20 commission on a £500 trade, tidy 4% for the stockbroker), and they tend to invest with far higher risk than they realise (no geographical diversification, usually a portfolio so small that significant non-systematic risks are present), and tend to just throw money (in the forms of fees and losses) at the people who know what they're doing.

But sure, don't listen to the people who are paid to help with this kind of thing (and who, by the way, spend their time helping people here for no fee, no chance of any "sales" as mentioned earlier), give what darkpool suggests a go, read a single book and then chuck your money at the city boys. They're not going to shed a tear over it.

A fool and his money...

darkpool

qpop wrote: »

Quite frankly beginner private investors who self invest, with very little knowledge, line the pockets of the "city boys" (institutional investors, market makers etc.) far more willingly than those who visit IFAs.

The investment is usually done with nothing much but emotion, high fees (proportionally) are paid (£20 commission on a £500 trade, tidy 4% for the stockbroker), and they tend to invest with far higher risk than they realise (no geographical diversification, usually a portfolio so small that significant non-systematic risks are present), and tend to just throw money (in the forms of fees and losses) at the people who know what they're doing.

But sure, don't listen to the people who are paid to help with this kind of thing (and who, by the way, spend their time helping people here for no fee, no chance of any "sales" as mentioned earlier), give what darkpool suggests a go, read a single book and then chuck your money at the city boys. They're not going to shed a tear over it.

A fool and his money...

i've got a fairly large portfolio, i pay nowhere near 4% a year in fees..... are you thinking of the IFA clients paying 4% a year?

i honestly think if someone has the intelligence to save money they have the intelligence to invest it. fair enough going to an IFA if you've inherited money/ got divorced etc. but overall the fools are paying 3 or 4% a year for no discernible benefit.