Buying Shares

sebo0607

Hi

I am looking for the best platform to buy £500 worth of shares, these are just for fun and I may sell them in the short term if the prices rises but if it does not I am happy to hold for the long term.

I have had a look at the Halifax share dealing service and they do not have an annual fee and charge £12.50 per trade, is this a good offer in terms of costs or are there better?

Thanks

Thrugelmir

X-O charge a flat fee of £5.95p.

£500 is a very small amount to invest in a share. You be better off buying a fund of some kind and not actively trading. Simply holding it for the long term.

MallyGirl

X-O worked for me

couriervanman

Thrugelmir wrote: »

X-O charge a flat fee of £5.95p.

£500 is a very small amount to invest in a share. You be better off buying a fund of some kind and not actively trading. Simply holding it for the long term.

Depends on the shares.........£500 of £5 BP shares or £500 of £0.05 shares in an AIM company who the OP might work for;)

coyrls

There are better ways to have fun.

eskbanker

couriervanman wrote: »

Depends on the shares.........£500 of £5 BP shares or £500 of £0.05 shares in an AIM company who the OP might work for;)

That wasn't really the point being made - of course it's possible to buy £500 worth of most shares, where the unit price permits this, but the issue is that relatively small purchases are disproportionately affected by trading costs, i.e. buying (and later selling) at £5.95 means that a £500 investment needs to grow by about 2.4% just to break even, whereas £5000 worth would only need 0.24%.

Stamp duty is charged as a percentage so doesn't really affect this comparison, and likewise buy/sell spreads, but any fixed costs for platforms, etc, may also impact the evaluation.

klew356

i quite fancy doing something similar!

sebo0607

Thrugelmir wrote: »

X-O charge a flat fee of £5.95p.

£500 is a very small amount to invest in a share. You be better off buying a fund of some kind and not actively trading. Simply holding it for the long term.

Thanks, I will have a look at X-O. I have an investment portfolio and SIPP and have just transferred some funds around to reduce the overall risk. I just fancied a little risk money and gamble on these shares.

sebo0607

couriervanman wrote: »

Depends on the shares.........£500 of £5 BP shares or £500 of £0.05 shares in an AIM company who the OP might work for;)

Thanks, the shares are currently valued at 3 pence each, as I said this is just for fun. I have other investments and SIPP for my serious investments.

Tom99

sebo0607 wrote: »

Hi

I am looking for the best platform to buy £500 worth of shares, these are just for fun and I may sell them in the short term if the prices rises but if it does not I am happy to hold for the long term.

I have had a look at the Halifax share dealing service and they do not have an annual fee and charge £12.50 per trade, is this a good offer in terms of costs or are there better?

Thanks

Halifax is only £12.50 if you want a live trade anytime the market is open.
You can buy for £2 using the once only regular investment where you invest on one of the 4 or 5 days a month chosen by Halifax.
You can sell using the one a month cheap trading day for £3.95.
That is probably the cheapest buy then sell cost you will get and for a £500 investment will work out like this:

Buy transaction fee - £2
Stamp Duty - £2.50
Sell transaction fee - £3.95
Buy/Sell spread between 20p and £5+ say £2
Total - £10.45 or 2% of your initial £500 investment.

MaxiRobriguez

There's nothing fun about spunking £500 up the wall.

Add it to your SIPP or use it for a holiday if you're not wanting it to be invested.