Newbie- I want to start trding in shares

the_matrix

Hi

I am thinking of trading in shares. I have £1K. What's the best way? How do I pick shares?

Thanks

Bye

qpop

Hmm. Take heed of your signature, diving in with £1k without any knowledge is akin to throwing your money at the institutional traders.

Read:
The Intelligent Investor (by Benjamin Graham)
Naked Trader (Robert Burns) and accompanying site - https://www.nakedtrader.co.uk
Smarter Investing - Tim Hale (I've not read this, but it's often tipped here)

They're a good start.

Also, check out the bulletin boards at https://www.fool.co.uk - they're awfully designed but full of great posters.
https://www.iii.co.uk has some good articles too, and decent boards for individual shares (it also allows you to create a portfolio and track its progress) They're also pretty low cost for Stocks and Shares ISA.
http://www.x-o.co.uk is cheaper than iii for non-ISA wrapped trading (£5.95 per trade)
---
Also, ask away. There's lots of knowledgeable private investors here, on iii, and at fool.co.uk

Most of all, take what people say with large doses of salt, do your own research, and understand that you should only invest what you're prepared to lose (make sure you have a good stock of cash for emergencies, basically)

ermine

I am thinking of trading in shares.

Why are you thinking of trading in shares? What are your investment goals, and what do you think trading in shares will do for you that, say, a decent Cash ISA won't, given your modest proposed investment amount?

Ifts

Definitely take heed of your signature!

Don't rush into things, qpop has recommended some great books for you to read. Read up and learn as much as you can before you dive in.
When you think you are ready to have a go at trading you can try out your strategy by having a practice first without committing real money, try it for a while and see if its something that you think you could be good at.

Here is the link for the Share Centre*: Practice trading shares with FREE practice account, you will have to register but its free.
Once you have registered you will have access to advice to help you get started and research tools so you can learn more about the market.

Real time trading in individual shares with small amounts of money is not very cost effective, as the trading fees will eat into your profits. Maybe wait till you have a little more. Read the above books and you will see what I mean.
Also a practice account does just that, it gives you an idea how things operate, but its very different in reality when you're staking real money, emotions etc.

*I'm sure there are other companies that offer practice accounts too.

the_matrix

Thanks everyone. I send you good karma from my heart.

Excellent advice regarding dummy account.

With respect to £1K being small amount of money true. I was thinking to trade Contracts For Difference. Keep the margins low and aim to make £100 per week. To offset risk of mega loss turn on auto sell.

Thoughts?

sabretoothtigger

I have £1K

Unit trusts, the end. If you are good enough to get upto 2k in a year then you can put the profits on CFD but I wouldnt advise it otherwise
Asia Pacific is the safest index imo and UT can be traded with lots of skill and luck

somethingcorporate

10% a week? This time next year we'll be millionaires (Rodney)!!

You'll be lucky to make 10% a year in the current climate.

Ifts

the_matrix wrote: »

Thoughts?

Trying to run before you can walk comes to mind

If you really want to invest yourself, educate yourself and do plenty of research before trading. And even then there are no guarantees regards to investment risk.
If you rush into it, there is a strong possibility of you getting your fingers burnt and it ending in tears.

Annisele

the_matrix wrote: »

With respect to £1K being small amount of money true. I was thinking to trade Contracts For Difference. Keep the margins low and aim to make £100 per week. To offset risk of mega loss turn on auto sell.

Thoughts?

My first thought is that you might be trolling.

My second thought is that if you have no experience of sharetrading and only £1k to play with, you shouldn't touch CFDs with somebody else's bargepole.

10% return a week is not going to happen consistently. 10% return a week is only going to happen at all (very occasionally) with ultra high risk - and that's not a good plan if the £1k is all you have to invest.

darkpool

the_matrix wrote: »

With respect to £1K being small amount of money true. I was thinking to trade Contracts For Difference. Keep the margins low and aim to make £100 per week. To offset risk of mega loss turn on auto sell.

with the greatest respect, you sound like you don't have a clue.

i was investing 15 years before i even touched derivatives. i would compare derivatives to using a gun - if you know what you're doing it's safe. if you don't know what you're doing you'll make a mess.

C_Mababejive

Take my advice,dont do it...you will loose your shirt.

You have insufficient capital and experience.

The moment you invest that money ,you will loose due to charges. You then will loose when you sell so thats another factor so to make a net profit,you first have to recoup those two losses. On £1000,that wont be easy.