Great Hunt: Are you interested in investing your money?

Marine_life

oh, ok then, maybe a few more:

1. Be a conscious investor - understands the facts - and DO NOT rely on past performance.
2. Not all investments are created equal - get the right mix of growth, income and volatility appropriate to your objectives.
3. Make sure your partner is on board - you will have different attitudes to risk - trust me on this one.
4. Don't try and second guess the market - markets are imperfect and move illogically - invest in fundamentals.
5. Don't expect to make a quick buck but be prepared to sell to rebalance.

StatusRed

Most of my income is saved in some form or another. I keep track of virtual "pots" of money for things I'm saving for: deposit for a flat, upcoming costs for the upkeep of my car over the coming year, holidays, expensive hobbies, emergency fund etc...

In my document which keeps track of this I also note where that money is.

Money is spread across, cash savings account (for money that will need to be accessed at short notice), funding circle (Peer-2-Peer lending), Stocks and Shares ISA, Help-to-buy ISA and unit trusts. It's important to spread out where the money is and what you're investing in.

stephan64

crmism wrote: »

My advice to any first-time investor is a. to avoid stock/share ISAs, as the tax savings are wiped out by charges, b. avoid managed funds, as they generally under-perform, and c. begin by buying shares directly in a business they know - such as a bank, high street store etc. That way, they avoid management costs, and can see how dividends grow. They should ignore fluctuations in share prices, look to the longer-term, sit tight every time a crisis is reported, and look to buy more shares when that occurs. They should also spread their money gradually over various market sectors.

You point is not valid as you can find many paltfroms with less than 1% charge. In the general terms, if the platfrom fee (all costs) would be less than 1%, then you can go for it. Also, the new investors must not start their own porfolio.

GooeyBlob

Saving for financial independence.

I started out with conventional savings but dipped a toe into the water with a Stocks and Shares ISA around 2000/1. At first I'd only put tentative amounts in, £1000-£2000 a year, but it did prove itself by outperforming other savings and gradually I started increasing the amounts. After the BoE started to reduce rates following the financial crisis I decided not to bother putting any more money into conventional savings and to put as much money as possible into this S+S ISA each year, maxing it out whenever possible.

With rates still at rock-bottom a couple of years ago I decided to take some of my conventional savings and invest them in shares via on online stockbroker. High-yielding FTSE 350 shares at first, but other stocks followed as my confidence grew; AIM, small-caps and VCTs. As the tax allowance has been reduced first to £5000 and now to £2000 I've been shifting more into well-established VCTs. These aren't for the faint-hearted but they're tax-free and the income generated from quite modest sums is substantial.

My advice? It's never too late to start. Build up a few months worth of conventional savings first, then start a S+S ISA and see how comfortable you feel after that. Whatever you choose to invest in, make sure you buy and hold for the long-term.

jimjames

elephantrosie wrote: »

ive always wanted to be a full time investor, but i like my day job and have invested too much time and money on it. been holding off investment for a looong looong loong time.

The number of people who can be a full time investor is very small - maybe mostly retired? Investments generally are passive so looking after them full time doesn't take a lot of effort unless you have seriously huge portfolio. Or did you mean trading? If that's the case then most people who do that don't make money as they're buying and selling very short term which is more like gambling.

dk2401 wrote: »

If you have a little money spare that you can tie up for at least 5 years then why not START NOW!
Maybe see my post (34) above for some pointers...

Not sure if you meant something else but I can't see how a little spare money would get you to be a full time investor?

dk2401

Marine_life wrote: »

There are three important things:

1. Diversify
2. Diversify
3. Diversify

,,,and keep costs low!:)

enthusiasticsaver

Years ago when we didn't have much spare money I was persuaded by a high st bank to invest in a totally unsuitable product. I sold it before I lost money but being older and wiser now I know it was an expensive and poor performing fund and my circumstances meant investing at that point was unwise. As a result I did not invest again for decades until 2014.

For the last three years we have invested in stocks and shares isas and sipps and at present have about 60% of our liquid assets invested. I have educated myself on investing this time though and gone for a diverse fund of passive funds with low charges. Best thing we did.

dk2401

jimjames wrote: »

Not sure if you meant something else but I can't see how a little spare money would get you to be a full time investor?

Depends what the poster meant when they said they'd been "holding off investing".
If they'd not actually invested before, jumping straight into it full time didn't seem a good idea to me...

Fatbritabroad

The most important thing is research. Don't just jump in. Also make sure you at least understand the basics. I. Amazed how many people including colleagues who work for a financial services company say they'd never invest in the stock market whole quote happily putting money into their work pension. When you get right down to it (ignoring the tax benefits of pensions and tax free cash) they're the same thing just opposite ends of the spectrum

george4064

My Dad opened a S&S ISA on my behalf when I was 18 in 2009 (fortunately shares were relatively cheap after the recent recession.) In 2012 I was halfway through my university course and I did a placement at HL at their stockbroking department, thats when I got really interested and started to manage the ISA myself.

Now 5 years on, my ISA is worth about 6 times it was in 2012 down to my discipline of adding money as & when I can as well as an approx annualized performance of 10%. Since December 2013 I have been very closely tracking my performance.

Some of the shares and investment trusts my Dad bought in 2009 still sit in my portfolio.