Safest way to buy 1000 NG shares cheaply

nottsphil

I've only ever acquired shares through privatizations, and still hold the minimal number of National Grid shares given out by East Midlands Electricity. I've noticed the share price plummet this week but the slight upturn at the end of this chart suggests they may have bottomed out. I'm not asking for advice on its prospects though, but I'm unsure of how to proceed even after reading the MSE guide. It looks like if I go for an online brokerage then I need to deposit money in their account first, but I'm wary of sending thousands of pounds to a company I've never heard of. I couldn't see any mention of protection similar to the £85,000 per licence holder that you get with savings.

Mark_d

As far as I know your money is protected whilst with the broker but once you buy shares then you can lose everything.  I currently use Hargreaves Lansdown but an starting to use Trading 212 as it's cheaper.

eskbanker

nottsphil said:

I've only ever acquired shares through privatizations, and still hold the minimal number of National Grid shares given out by East Midlands Electricity. I've noticed the share price plummet this week but the slight upturn at the end of this chart suggests they may have bottomed out. I'm not asking for advice on its prospects though, but I'm unsure of how to proceed even after reading the MSE guide. It looks like if I go for an online brokerage then I need to deposit money in their account first, but I'm wary of sending thousands of pounds to a company I've never heard of. I couldn't see any mention of protection similar to the £85,000 per licence holder that you get with savings.

How do you hold your existing shares, i.e. in certificated form or already with a broker?  Have you received the documentation about the current rights issue, which is likely to explain the price fluctuation?

InvesterJones

nottsphil said:

 It looks like if I go for an online brokerage then I need to deposit money in their account first, but I'm wary of sending thousands of pounds to a company I've never heard of. I couldn't see any mention of protection similar to the £85,000 per licence holder that you get with savings.

Then go for a broker you have heard of? Hargreaves have an offer at the moment where up to £100 of dealing charges are refunded. Your cash deposit prior to the money being used for buying can be protected up to 85k by FSCS - I can't think of a UK broker where it isn't, but also you'd typically only transfer cash just prior to trading so not very much time for a problem to arise.

jimjames

nottsphil said:

 I've noticed the share price plummet this week but the slight upturn at the end of this chart suggests they may have bottomed out. I'm not asking for advice on its prospects though, 

I know you say you're not asking for advice but based on the fact you're asking how to buy the shares it suggests you're not that experienced with investments. You might want to look at why the share price has dropped recently .

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6530914/national-grid-shares-help#latest

wmb194

nottsphil said:

I've only ever acquired shares through privatizations, and still hold the minimal number of National Grid shares given out by East Midlands Electricity. I've noticed the share price plummet this week but the slight upturn at the end of this chart suggests they may have bottomed out. I'm not asking for advice on its prospects though, but I'm unsure of how to proceed even after reading the MSE guide. It looks like if I go for an online brokerage then I need to deposit money in their account first, but I'm wary of sending thousands of pounds to a company I've never heard of. I couldn't see any mention of protection similar to the £85,000 per licence holder that you get with savings.

You should definitely try to understand what's going on if you don't already but a good choice for a broker for the nervous would be iWeb, a trading name of Halifax Share Dealing and ultimately owned by Lloyds Banking Group. You can deposit money by debit card and its dealing fee is £5 with no ongoing account fees.

https://www.iweb-sharedealing.co.uk/

nottsphil

eskbanker said:

nottsphil said:

I've only ever acquired shares through privatizations, and still hold the minimal number of National Grid shares given out by East Midlands Electricity. I've noticed the share price plummet this week but the slight upturn at the end of this chart suggests they may have bottomed out. I'm not asking for advice on its prospects though, but I'm unsure of how to proceed even after reading the MSE guide. It looks like if I go for an online brokerage then I need to deposit money in their account first, but I'm wary of sending thousands of pounds to a company I've never heard of. I couldn't see any mention of protection similar to the £85,000 per licence holder that you get with savings.

How do you hold your existing shares, i.e. in certificated form or already with a broker?  Have you received the documentation about the current rights issue, which is likely to explain the price fluctuation?

I think they have deemed that my shares are held by a third party, because I didn't interact with them at the time. I received (and read) that documentation several weeks ago.

nottsphil

jimjames said:

nottsphil said:

 I've noticed the share price plummet this week but the slight upturn at the end of this chart suggests they may have bottomed out. I'm not asking for advice on its prospects though, 

I know you say you're not asking for advice but based on the fact you're asking how to buy the shares it suggests you're not that experienced with investments. You might want to look at why the share price has dropped recently .

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6530914/national-grid-shares-help#latest

I realised that would affect the valuation but I read in an article (that I can no longer find, but like this one) that it had fallen too far.
https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/companies/news/1048644/national-grid-slide-too-harsh-after-rights-issue-suggests-ubs-1048644.html

EthicsGradient

nottsphil said:

eskbanker said:

nottsphil said:

I've only ever acquired shares through privatizations, and still hold the minimal number of National Grid shares given out by East Midlands Electricity. I've noticed the share price plummet this week but the slight upturn at the end of this chart suggests they may have bottomed out. I'm not asking for advice on its prospects though, but I'm unsure of how to proceed even after reading the MSE guide. It looks like if I go for an online brokerage then I need to deposit money in their account first, but I'm wary of sending thousands of pounds to a company I've never heard of. I couldn't see any mention of protection similar to the £85,000 per licence holder that you get with savings.

How do you hold your existing shares, i.e. in certificated form or already with a broker?  Have you received the documentation about the current rights issue, which is likely to explain the price fluctuation?

I think they have deemed that my shares are held by a third party, because I didn't interact with them at the time. I received (and read) that documentation several weeks ago.

Well, the rights issue was announced on May 23rd - 8 days ago (that's when the price started to drop). So no one saw the documentation before that. If you "think" your shares are held by a third party, then you ought to find out before buying more of them (is this third a platform you can buy shares with?), and also read the documentation issued last Thursday. 

wmb194

nottsphil said:

eskbanker said:

nottsphil said:

I've only ever acquired shares through privatizations, and still hold the minimal number of National Grid shares given out by East Midlands Electricity. I've noticed the share price plummet this week but the slight upturn at the end of this chart suggests they may have bottomed out. I'm not asking for advice on its prospects though, but I'm unsure of how to proceed even after reading the MSE guide. It looks like if I go for an online brokerage then I need to deposit money in their account first, but I'm wary of sending thousands of pounds to a company I've never heard of. I couldn't see any mention of protection similar to the £85,000 per licence holder that you get with savings.

How do you hold your existing shares, i.e. in certificated form or already with a broker?  Have you received the documentation about the current rights issue, which is likely to explain the price fluctuation?

I think they have deemed that my shares are held by a third party, because I didn't interact with them at the time. I received (and read) that documentation several weeks ago.

When you write, "they" do you mean National Grid? If so, National Grid will never write to you directly. If you own certificates or they're held electronically with the registrar it'll be via the share registrar, which in this case is Equiniti, or your stockbroker.