Learning about Stocks & Shares

mrlegend123

benbay001 said:

comment_as... said:

I prefer individual shares. They're easier to understand (most funds don't even tell you most of what they hold). They do concentrate risk and return, which works for me.
Start very small and learn as you go. You'll feel much more motivated to learn having even a very small amount on the line. Think of your first investment as a cost of learning and pick a suitable amount to pay.
There's no minimum time to hold shares, traders do it for literally hundredths of a second. When people say 10 years + what they mean is that it could take that long for value to out. You sell whenever the price is right, if that happens tomorrow then so much the better.
Browse forums like London South East and ADVFN. Bear in mind that people have an interest in talking up the price of shares they own. As you learn more you'll be able to make more use of company accounts and screening tools.

Although i generally agree with you, i certainly wouldnt suggest starting on LSE or ADVFN.
If you are truly interesting in buying individual shares you cant go far wrong with "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham.
(I only value invest, its all that makes sense to me)
Although it will take a very long time before you are in anyway ready to pick a stock in anyway more than a gamble.
If you dont think you want to commit considerable time to learning (totally understandable) then you cant go far wrong with index funds.
Whatever you do, dont buy "tips" that you read online.

what are your (and other posters) annual average returns from your shares portfolio?

Do share picking actually beat funds these days? investing and not trading 

eskbanker

mrlegend123 said:

Do share picking actually beat funds these days?

At the risk of stating the obvious, it depends entirely on the shares and the funds, so generalisation at that conceptual level is unfortunately meaningless!

mrlegend123

fair one, over 10% gains a year for the average person? I know it's hard to compare but people can state their average gains 

barnstar2077

eskbanker said:

mrlegend123 said:

Do share picking actually beat funds these days?

At the risk of stating the obvious, it depends entirely on the shares and the funds, so generalisation at that conceptual level is unfortunately meaningless!

I am sure there are a lot of people out there that happened to pick some health / tech stocks before covid who can't believe how amazing they are doing, and all down to their intelligence and unique system too!

benbay001

My personal returns are meaningless as said above. All i can say is that im very happy with them.
If you find yourself easily swung emotionally it almost definitely isnt for you. (I work with a guy who sold everything, bought back in and then sold everything and then bought back in again in just under a week)

BrockStoker

mrlegend123 said:

benbay001 said:

comment_as... said:

I prefer individual shares. They're easier to understand (most funds don't even tell you most of what they hold). They do concentrate risk and return, which works for me.
Start very small and learn as you go. You'll feel much more motivated to learn having even a very small amount on the line. Think of your first investment as a cost of learning and pick a suitable amount to pay.
There's no minimum time to hold shares, traders do it for literally hundredths of a second. When people say 10 years + what they mean is that it could take that long for value to out. You sell whenever the price is right, if that happens tomorrow then so much the better.
Browse forums like London South East and ADVFN. Bear in mind that people have an interest in talking up the price of shares they own. As you learn more you'll be able to make more use of company accounts and screening tools.

Although i generally agree with you, i certainly wouldnt suggest starting on LSE or ADVFN.
If you are truly interesting in buying individual shares you cant go far wrong with "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham.
(I only value invest, its all that makes sense to me)
Although it will take a very long time before you are in anyway ready to pick a stock in anyway more than a gamble.
If you dont think you want to commit considerable time to learning (totally understandable) then you cant go far wrong with index funds.
Whatever you do, dont buy "tips" that you read online.

what are your (and other posters) annual average returns from your shares portfolio?

Do share picking actually beat funds these days? investing and not trading 

Yes. You only have to look at what share prices can do to see what is possible. Of course investing in individual shares is going to be riskier than investing in funds, but returns are potentially much better. Generally speaking, the more risk you take, the greater the potential returns. Conversely if you get it wrong, there is the potential to loose a large part of your initial investment, and perhaps even all of it if you are very unlucky, but as long as you are not totally foolish I think this is unlikely.

I'm relatively new to investing in individual stocks (I first invested a year ago last Nov), although I have spent years getting to know my preferred sector (healthcare/biotech) and companies within it, and I think I've done OK so far.

I currently have 3 portfolios which I manage:

Combined ISA/SIPP portfolio (2 stocks currently) started in Nov 19 with £40K - current value is ~£87.9K (about 110% gain in around 15 months, although technically it's much less since 15 months is only the time of my first buy)

Mrs Brock's ISA portfolio (3 stocks) started around 10 Oct 20 with £15K - current value is ~ £26.8K (about 86% gain in just over 3 months)

My unwrapped share dealing portfolio (1 stock) started around 10 Oct 20 with £3.2K - current value is ~£5.2K (about 63% gain in just over 3 months)

Note: The last two portfolios (holding mostly biotech) were not invested "before covid", I didn't "happen" to pick those stocks, and I don't put it down to "some unique system" or my "intelligence", contrary to what another poster on this thread was trying to suggest previously (funny how when you are successful others try to rubbish you/make you look like you are some kind of a "fraud").

I do however believe that a good plan/strategy is important along with a good understanding of the companies/sector, and that anyone with a reasonable level of intelligence (as long as they have the right attitude to risk and are patient) is capable of successfully investing in individual stocks. I also have my own strategies to help minimize risks as much as possible, but at the end of the day I only invest money in individual stocks which I can afford to loose.

If you want to read more about my own portfolios/strategy I have a (long) thread about it here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6083125/investing-in-biotech-stocks-my-experience-so-far

Username999

BrockStoker said:

Yes. You only have to look at what share prices can do to see what is possible. Of course investing in individual shares is going to be riskier than investing in funds, but returns are potentially much better. Generally speaking, the more risk you take, the greater the potential returns. Conversely if you get it wrong, there is the potential to loose a large part of your initial investment, and perhaps even all of it if you are very unlucky, but as long as you are not totally foolish I think this is unlikely.

I'm relatively new to investing in individual stocks (I first invested a year ago last Nov), although I have spent years getting to know my preferred sector (healthcare/biotech) and companies within it, and I think I've done OK so far.

I currently have 3 portfolios which I manage:

Combined ISA/SIPP portfolio (2 stocks currently) started in Nov 19 with £40K - current value is ~£87.9K (about 110% gain in around 15 months, although technically it's much less since 15 months is only the time of my first buy)

Mrs Brock's ISA portfolio (3 stocks) started around 10 Oct 20 with £15K - current value is ~ £26.8K (about 86% gain in just over 3 months)

My unwrapped share dealing portfolio (1 stock) started around 10 Oct 20 with £3.2K - current value is ~£5.2K (about 63% gain in just over 3 months)

Note: The last two portfolios (holding mostly biotech) were not invested "before covid", I didn't "happen" to pick those stocks, and I don't put it down to "some unique system" or my "intelligence", contrary to what another poster on this thread was trying to suggest previously (funny how when you are successful others try to rubbish you/make you look like you are some kind of a "fraud").

I do however believe that a good plan/strategy is important along with a good understanding of the companies/sector, and that anyone with a reasonable level of intelligence (as long as they have the right attitude to risk and are patient) is capable of successfully investing in individual stocks. I also have my own strategies to help minimize risks as much as possible, but at the end of the day I only invest money in individual stocks which I can afford to loose.

If you want to read more about my own portfolios/strategy I have a (long) thread about it here:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6083125/investing-in-biotech-stocks-my-experience-so-far

Watch this Brockstoker, a naive investor who thinks his picks are above average, so he must have an edge.
He hasn't, as time will tell, one to watch until he disappears.
Seen so many like him in 40 years of investing, but he can't be told.

BananaRepublic

mrlegend123 said:

fair one, over 10% gains a year for the average person? I know it's hard to compare but people can state their average gains 

I’ve had most of my funds returning over 10% / year for the last five years, and some going back 20 years have done similarly well. But many older funds started out in company pensions with modest returns, and it took me a while to sort them out. It’s so easy to leave a few thousand sitting around, and not realise that it adds up. I also went through a tracker phase that gave modest returns. 

Ian Cowie, who writes the Sunday Times investors column, buys shares and does well, probably much better than I do with funds. But he spends far more effort on research, far more. 

Note that everyone is a genius in a bull market, a crash is the real test. I’m too old and set in my ways to start buying shares. 

Username999

BananaRepublic said:

 returning over 10% / year for the last five years, and some going back 20 years have done similarly well. 

Name one.
Shouldn't be difficult.

BananaRepublic

Username999 said:

BananaRepublic said:

 returning over 10% / year for the last five years, and some going back 20 years have done similarly well. 

Name one.
Shouldn't be difficult.

My Jupiter European has grown very well. I didn’t balance my investments which some say you should do.