Shares--whats the point?

C_Mababejive

You watch them rise,you watch them fall. Sometimes you are in profit,sometimes in loss. The only real profit or loss is a crystallised one due to a sale.

Is it worth hanging on to shares just for the divi?

Best to sell high and move on?

But then what..? What do you buy then?

If you hang on to what you thought was a safe share for income,what if something dramatic happens (BP)..and this wipes out past divi income benefits?

Unless you have the skills to watch the market intently and buy low/Sell high/move on..then more and more i think your safer/better off in a good fund...thoughts?

somethingcorporate

The only shares we dabble in are through the company I work for because I get tax breaks on buying them. I'd not do it otherwise due to the high-risk nature of them. My dad made and lost a substantial amount in the dot com boom on AIM shares and I know a few people that have made plenty of money from being lucky in them. I guess that is it, same as premium bonds, some people win really big and others get nothing much, although with shares you do have the chance of losing the lot!

robin58

C_Mababejive wrote: »

You watch them rise,you watch them fall. Sometimes you are in profit,sometimes in loss. The only real profit or loss is a crystallised one due to a sale.

Is it worth hanging on to shares just for the divi?

Best to sell high and move on?

But then what..? What do you buy then?

If you hang on to what you thought was a safe share for income,what if something dramatic happens (BP)..and this wipes out past divi income benefits?

Unless you have the skills to watch the market intently and buy low/Sell high/move on..then more and more i think your safer/better off in a good fund...thoughts?

I hope some people know how to do it or you would not be having a pension.

The above is partly how they make the money to fund and pay the pension!!!

Wilkins

C_Mababejive wrote: »

You watch them rise,you watch them fall. Sometimes you are in profit,sometimes in loss. The only real profit or loss is a crystallised one due to a sale.

True, as regards s.p.

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Is it worth hanging on to shares just for the divi?

Yes.

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Best to sell high and move on?

Sometimes.

C_Mababejive wrote: »

But then what..? What do you buy then?

Whatever you think is good, having done your patient research.

C_Mababejive wrote: »

If you hang on to what you thought was a safe share for income,what if something dramatic happens (BP)..and this wipes out past divi income benefits?

You keep calm, make an appraisal and decide what to do, taking comfort in the fact that you have diversified well.

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Unless you have the skills to watch the market intently and buy low/Sell high/move on..then more and more i think your safer/better off in a good fund...thoughts?

I doubt that stock-picking, overall, is better than using low cost index-trackers, but it is more interesting.

Linton

You buy them and keep them, ensuring you buy sufficient apparently secure shares such that any one doing a BP wont dramatically affect your wealth. My 20 or so dividend paying shares have provided about 4.5% dividends to supplement my retirement income and a total return of more than 20% over the past year.

If you dont want to invest sufficient total money to have say 20 viable shareholdings then you are better off with a fund in my view.

cathybird

article on "why shares beat property":

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/comment/iancowie/6836526/Why-shares-beat-property.html

From 2009, and obviously the picture has improved since then.

jimjames

robin58 wrote: »

I hope some people know how to do it or you would not be having a pension.

The above is partly how they make the money to fund and pay the pension!!!

Or you rely on a tracker to do the job instead!

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Unless you have the skills to watch the market intently and buy low/Sell high/move on..then more and more i think your safer/better off in a good fund...thoughts?

I completely agree. The only shares I hold are investment trusts which are effectively funds anyway and Eurotunnel that I've held for a long time just for the travel perks.

Funds are less exciting than watching a share jump or fall but far less effort on a daily basis to monitor.

BLB53

I hold a mixture of shares and investment trusts. The returns on the ITs over the past 3 years have slightly exceeded the shares - maybe 2% or 3% each year.

So unless you particularly like holding shares, I would suggest most people would do better with a mix/basket of diversified ITs - UK, Global, Smaller Companies, Commodities etc.

I don't think I have the skills to time the market buying low, selling high.

grey_gym_sock

there's no compelling reason to buy individual shares if you're not enjoying the process. a few funds or investment trusts would do the job. providing they cover a decent spread of countries, etc. and do make them (on average) low-cost funds.

A_Flock_Of_Sheep

The USA only has to sneeze and it rocks the markets. A slight threat of tapering QE causes a significant wobble - lord knows what would happen if they just stopped QE dead. The Government shutdown was another thing. Not a weeks goes by where something in the USA causes a "drag" on the markets.

If it's not the USA it's China and it's sodding mines.


Have we ever had a government shut down in the UK?

jimjames

A_Flock_Of_Sheep wrote: »

Have we ever had a government shut down in the UK?

Not by the government. The 1970s was like it by the unions. There isn't the same legislation in the UK limiting borrowing so it is never an issue that needs to be agreed by deadlines like the USA.

A_Flock_Of_Sheep wrote: »

The USA only has to sneeze and it rocks the markets. A slight threat of tapering QE causes a significant wobble - lord knows what would happen if they just stopped QE dead.

I think it is highly unlikely that it would be stopped dead. It will taper gradually. It isn't even happening in the UK now but US is still pumping huge amounts into their system.