investing in FTSE 100

bomber2

I would like to invest in the ftse 100 as its down at present,not a huge amount,what is the best/cheapest way to do it,i would like to cash in on a 8-15% profit,if it were to happen.

colsten

bomber2 wrote: »

I would like to invest in the ftse 100 as its down at present,not a huge amount,what is the best/cheapest way to do it,i would like to cash in on a 8-15% profit,if it were to happen.

Investing in the FTSE 100 is generally considered very high risk, as it doesn't provide enough diversification. why did you choose the FTSE 100? What is your risk score? How much are you willing to lose? How would it affect you if you lost half of your investment?

What if any other investments do you have? What if any debts, incl mortgage, do you have? How old are you? How many dependents do you have? What cash reserves do you have?

bomber2

I am only playing with money i can afford to lose,i invested around 10k about 15 year ago and made a small profit after losing a little at first,this was with prudential and i think the ftse was about 6300 when i cashed out,so i probably did the right thing,i just think its worth a punt at 6000ish

colsten

Fair enough. If you are a gambler and you think now is the right time to put your money on red (or black), it's the right time for you to place your punt. Brokerage costs shouldn't be your prime concerns as they are a small %age of any deal, and as you are willing to bet the farm.

If you are an investor, you would answer the questions I asked before you would bother with details such as broker costs.

dunstonh

bout 15 year ago and made a small profit after losing a little at first,this was with prudential and i think the ftse was about 6300 when i cashed out,so i probably did the right thing,i just think its worth a punt at 6000ish

But look at all the dividends you missed.

As mentioned, the FTSE100 is not a good index to track. It has underperformed for 20 years and has poor asset diversification.

It is not down much off its peak at present. Its not even classed as a crash (at least not yet). Punting like this is not usually a good idea.

george4064

For Ftse 100 tracker, consider the iShares plc Core FTSE 100 UCITS ETF (Dist) (ISF)


Low charge of 0.07%

colsten

george4064 wrote: »

Low charge of 0.07%

0.07% just proves my point that brokerage charges shouldn't be at the forefront of the decision making.

bigadaj

colsten wrote: »

0.07% just proves my point that brokerage charges shouldn't be at the forefront of the decision making.

You're missing the point of the post though.

Short term trading is risky, but if someone wants to do it it is up to them. It is totally different from investing, which also means that the choice of the ftse 100 is also irrelevant to an extent, the OP is looking at getting in and out presumably over a few weeks or months at worst. This could generate a profit or a loss but the fact it's full of banks, pharma and mining or oil isn't going to make a difference to a short term punt.

Edit - though the post title isn't really accurate I'll give you that.

Al.

dunstonh wrote: »

But look at all the dividends you missed.

As mentioned, the FTSE100 is not a good index to track. It has underperformed for 20 years and has poor asset diversification.

Couldn't agree more if I tried. And I did.

http://www.alrush.biz/what-happens-if-the-ftse-100-reaches-7000/

Pincher

Spread betting is what you really want.

If you spend all day staring at a screen, and bet small amounts, it's pretty easy to make money on the small fluctuations. Just close the position when it makes a few quid every time it randomly drifts up or down.

The problem is, you probably make £30 a day, so you get impatient and greedy, and bet big, and then you lose big.

Oh, and you have no time for a real job. Hmm, unless you are a taxi driver in China, I don't know how they manage to drive, since they are checking the ticker all the time.

By the way, if you bet big on a single stock, there is the suspicion that you are trading on insider information, so the regulator can knock on the door. Betting on an index makes it unlikely that you were manipulating the market. Well, unless it's a tiny market like Uzbekistan.

Radiantsoul

Al. wrote: »

Couldn't agree more if I tried. And I did.

http://www.alrush.biz/what-happens-if-the-ftse-100-reaches-7000/

I think your numbers are wrong though. The FTSE100 has a value of around £2trillion and dividend yield of c3%, so since 1999 it will have paid out less than £1 trillion, not £75 trillion.