Total novice help please

happymum37

Hello lovely people.

I have £200 ( I know not the largest pot!!!) And would like to buy some stocks.  I can afford to lose that and its a gift from a relative who wants me to basically have a punt. 

I have colleagues who use etoro to buy the stocks but wondered who you advise to buy through? 

Thank you for your help.  I realise 200 pounds is not the usual budget on here but hey ho it's a gift

Thank you

tebbins

It's great that you're thinking about investing, it's even better than you admit you're an absolute beginner. Some people get stuck in the "little bit of knowledge" trap, like thinking you can be a hairdresser because you can die it purple or thinking you're a mechanic because you changed a tire.
Etoro is an app for trading stocks and CFDs, which basically means gambling and speculating. If you are at all susceptible to gambling, I suggest you avoid this.
Investing is stocks is more like buying a rental property, or buying a business like a petrol station, McDonald's franchise etc. It's really, really boring and so it should be. Grass grows faster than sensible investments.
As you have £30k savings, investing £200 is unlikely to make a difference to your financial situation. Would it really be fun to watch £200 wobble up and down on your phone? If it's a gift, I'd enjoy it and treat myself to one expensive day/night out or a few good ones (unless you live in London).

happymum37

tebbins said:

It's great that you're thinking about investing, it's even better than you admit you're an absolute beginner. Some people get stuck in the "little bit of knowledge" trap, like thinking you can be a hairdresser because you can die it purple or thinking you're a mechanic because you changed a tire.
Etoro is an app for trading stocks and CFDs, which basically means gambling and speculating. If you are at all susceptible to gambling, I suggest you avoid this.
Investing is stocks is more like buying a rental property, or buying a business like a petrol station, McDonald's franchise etc. It's really, really boring and so it should be. Grass grows faster than sensible investments.
As you have £30k savings, investing £200 is unlikely to make a difference to your financial situation. Would it really be fun to watch £200 wobble up and down on your phone? If it's a gift, I'd enjoy it and treat myself to one expensive day/night out or a few good ones (unless you live in London).

Thank you for the reply!

Nope I'm not a gambler at all. 

My target quirky uncle insists this this money to be invested in shares lol. We have been thinking about doing this for years so it's a good starting point and could afford to add a nominal £50 each month on top 

I realise its a very long game!

I will try etoro and see how it goes till Easter (money being given at Christmas). ...who knows my 200 quid may be 250 by then lol

Thank you

happymum37

Ps I have genuinely spent a year on andboff trying to learn about crypto. 

It still hurts my head and I just don't get it.  I'm an absolute novice!!!

RG2015

Most banks have basic investment platforms which are easy to operate. I have both NatWest and RBS Invest, but both had a £50 incentive bonus which I think has gone now.

For £200 though, have a look at what your bank has.

Here is a NatWest link to give you an idea, but other banks may have similar.

https://www.natwest.com/investments/natwest-invest.html

jimjames

If you're really looking to learn as well as make some money and add to it long term then I'd suggest buying either an index tracking fund (which might not meet the stipulation of your donor even though it is invested in shares) or an investment trust which is a share in a company but itself invests in many other companies so is a lot more diversified than buying a single company share. You're still likely to be paying a high trading commission to buy & sell compared to a fund for the small amounts you're talking about but it will be a far less risky venture than just buying one company's shares.

Some investment trusts that would be standalone investments are ones like F&C Investment trust (ticker FCIT) or Witan (WTAN). If you want a bit more of a rollercoaster ride then one like Scottish Mortgage (SMT) would be an option but is higher risk although still not as risky as an individual share.

I don't know about other platforms but if you setup a regular plan with HL then it's only £1.50 per deal rather than the normal £11.95. You can start, stop and change at any point so you could do the first month at £200 and then £50 after that if you wanted.

https://www.hl.co.uk/shares/investment-trusts

happymum37 said:

Ps I have genuinely spent a year on andboff trying to learn about crypto. 

It still hurts my head and I just don't get it.  I'm an absolute novice!!!

By the way many investors on this forum wouldn't consider crypto to be an investment so don't worry about that!

tacpot12

If you do want to buy some shares in individual companies, I would recommend that you buy shares in companies that you use and where you think they have got their offer to their customers spot on. The chances are that it you like what they are doing, lots of other customers will also like what they are doing, and they will grow. 

I own shares in my bank for this reason, but generally I buy collective investments like those suggested by jimjames. 

The HL in his post is Hargreaves Lansdown, BTW. 'HL' are a well respected stockbroker who are used to serving novice investors. Their discounted fees for regular investing are very good reason to invest through them. You should invest your money in a Stocks and Shares ISA, and then use the money in the ISA to buy the shares you want. Having the money inside the ISA tax wrapper means that you don't have to worry about Capital Gains Tax or Income Tax. 

HL, like all stockbrokers will charge you a small fee to hold your investments with them. Although this fee is unfortunate, it does mean that your investments are held in electronic form which makes them much easier to sell in the future. The alternative is to have paper share certificates which add another lay of complexity to investing that you neither want or need. 

I would encourage you to take up your uncle's kind offer and being your education in investing.  

tebbins

Etoro really isn't how people start investing seriously. A robo provider like Nutmeg or a cheap S&S ISA platform like Vanguard is a good place to start as a beginner. Etoro is for people who want to speculate and trade.

Thrugelmir

If you want a punt. Go down the bookies. At least you can watch your money go down the pan live on TV. 

If you want to invest for the long term. Consider a Vanguard fund. Put the money in and forget about it.  Fable of the hare and the tortoise. Who won the race eventually? 

steampowered

I very much disagree with most of the other posters. I doubt the uncle's gift is about the money. It might be an attempt to get you into the habit of investing.

Understanding the basics of investing is a really really, important life skill. It's right up there with numeracy and literacy skills. A basic understanding of investing can make hundreds of thousands of pounds of difference to your lifetime wealth, compared with someone who just puts their money into a savings account.

The act of opening a stocks & shares ISA and putting some money in is really really important. You then know where to put your spare cash beyond your emergency fund. Go and do that. 

What is all of this nonsense about "having a punt"? While choosing a diversified investment fund such as a Vanguard fund is the lowest risk approach, even if you do choose an individual share rather than an investment fund, that is hardly comparable to choosing a horse down the bookies. Choosing a sensible blue chip company is highly likely to generate a good return over the long term.

sevenhills

happymum37 said:

Hello lovely people.

I have £200 ( I know not the largest pot!!!) And would like to buy some stocks.  I can afford to lose that and its a gift from a relative who wants me to basically have a punt. 

How about Royal Mail?