Barclays Smart Investor

Piginblanket

Hello!

I bank with barclays and have just opened a Smart Investor account and deposited £2500 because I have it spare

I would like to park it somewhere and see what happens, but am bewildered by what everything means!

I can afford to lose it, although i'd rather not, of course, but would like to buy some shares...

Can anybody recommend some shares to buy, or where to look for research or inspiration?!

I opened the account because its linked to my bank account, so easy to look at when I log into my banking app, but also wanted to buy shares in nio and xpeng which i have been looking at for a while. stupidly, it didn't occur to me that I couldn't buy these using Barclays (Turns out you can't!) So i'll sort something else out for these later.

You have probably guessed by now that i haven't a clue what i'm talking about - I work hard, earn ok money, have a mortgage, a chunk of savings and a lump of crypto.

Am just terribly bored with my savings effectively depreciating!

Daliah

Very few, if any, people on this board would recommend buying individual shares as this is usually way above a person's acceptable risk tolerance. If you are happy to lose the lot, buying shares could be a good idea.

If you'd rather have a reasonable chance to grow your investment, you would normally opt for a global fund, such as Vanguard LifeStrategy or HSBC Global Strategy. This is not a recommendation, just the names of a couple of funds. There's a lot of reading you can do, starting here: https://monevator.com/category/investing/passive-investing-investing/

Whether using your bank's investment services (platform) is the best choice is another important factor to research before you jump. As the platform charges can significantly eat into your investment, you want to choose a platform with minimal cost. 

You would also try and keep your tax exposure to a minimum and probably make your investment as part of an ISA or SIPP.

EDIT: I see from an earlier post you made that you might already have an S&S ISA with AJ Bell. Unless you don't mind paying a second lot of charges, and unless you have maxed your ISA allowance and must invest before April 6, the logical place for further investments seems to be that S&S ISA (even if you transferred this ISA to Barclays). Another option could be your works pension if you are allowed to make extra contributions.

masonic

Reminds me of https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/shares/10609171/We-lost-everything-gambling-on-shares.html

wmb194

If you still have your account with AJ Bell you could start with its weekly magazine, "Shares."

https://www.youinvest.co.uk/sharesmagazine

Otherwise there's all sorts out there. The old faithful for UK shares is Investors' Chronicle, an FT publication, available at newsagents and online and Barron's for US shares. Read the FT, watch Bloomberg and CNBC, look at Google finance, lots of places. No-one's going to hold your hand, though.

Steve182

You are normally better off using a stocks and shares ISA to shelter any gains (through capital gain or dividend) from tax, although for a small investment of £2.5K any gains are unlikely to be taxable.

A global equity fund might be your best option rather than investing in individual shares.