buying shares....help!

alice898

Hi all,

I'd like to buy shares in a company but don't know how best to actually buy them. I know which company I want to invest in and I've researched shares but don't know where to go to actually purchase and not be ripped off. I'll not be investing a large amount, so don't want it being eaten up by fees. Any website recommendations?? I dont want to sound naive but is it as easy to buy shares then either hold on to them long term or sell when I choose??

Any help would be greatfully received

edinburgher

I know this will come across as negative, but I am not sure that someone who is able to carry out sufficient analysis to decide to buy a specific share but cannot figure out the mechanics of doing so should be buying shares.

Purchasing a single share is quite a risky proposition as you will be effectively 100% invested in a single company. You are not diversified and there's basically a 50/50 chance you'll lose money (as in the share may perform/it may not)

A small investment in a well diversified fund sounds like a much better plan if this will be your only investment.

If you stick with your original plan, just look for a cheap execution only broker with no platform/annual fees.

Linton

As long as you are buying shares quoted on the London Stock Exchange or a foreign equivalent using recognised companies you are most unlikely to get ripped-off - its a highly competitive market. The easiest way and cheapest way is to open an account with one of the online brokers whose names you will see frequently mentioned on this forum - eg Hargreaves Lansdowne, Bestinvest, iii, Halifax etc etc. See Monevator for a comparison.

How much money do you plan to invest? As a one off lump sum I would say anything less than perhaps £1000 is not worth doing because of costs and the hassle/return balance. Some of the brokers offer cheap deals for small regular investments - eg Halifax and iii.

Only buying one single share with money that matters is a seriously bad idea because of the risks - if the company goes bust you lose everything. If you are investing in individual shares you need perhaps 15 different ones to spread that risk, which implies a portfolio of at least £15K. A small investor would be much better advised to buy funds where the risk is spread over perhaps hundreds of companies and the cost of buying/selling would usually be less.

Gram_Parsons

Just being nosey, what company?

racing_blue

Very easy if the share is listed on a major exchange like the London Stock Exchange.

1. Go to a website like https://www.iii.co.uk

2. Register for a sharedealing account

3. Transfer some money using a debit card

4. Buy the shares. You will have to pay commission of about £10, and stamp duty of 0.5% if the value is more than £1000.

alice898

Thanks for the advice, I'm only just starting out so only wanted to invest in one company to begin with, plus had an almighty tip so just want to try and cash in with a bit of excess cash I have I understand I need an execution only broker, was just looking for recommendations really. Thanks!

Linton

alice898 wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, I'm only just starting out so only wanted to invest in one company to begin with, plus had an almighty tip so just want to try and cash in with a bit of excess cash I have I understand I need an execution only broker, was just looking for recommendations really. Thanks!

Beware of almighty tips. Why do you know about it and the professionals dont? If the professionals do know about it the good news would already be included in the price. Also you dont generally get tips on good solid companies, but rather on risky tiddlers which may do spectacularly well but can also fail disastrously.

badger09

Linton wrote: »

Beware of almighty tips. Why do you know about it and the professionals dont? If the professionals do know about it the good news would already be included in the price. Also you dont generally get tips on good solid companies, but rather on risky tiddlers which may do spectacularly well but can also fail disastrously.

This is so true, as I know to my cost .

OP please think very carefully before you go ahead and waste/risk/ invest your money on the basis of this 'almighty tip'

ChesterDog

Investing in only one company to begin with...

That's not investing.

That's speculating, or gambling.

It is a very risky thing to do.

racing_blue

ChesterDog wrote: »

Investing in only one company to begin with...

That's not investing.

That's speculating, or gambling.

Why? If someone had bought into Apple or Google 10 years ago, and held ever since, which would that make them- a speculator, or a gambler?

alice898

Oh yes I know this probably isn't the done thing, it's a very successful company and well established, I guess most investing is a gamble really....