Shares

Jacster_2

Hi,

I'm venturing into the stock market, for the first time really. It's small fry I'll be playing with, but a first for me and I want to get it as right as I can.

Where is the best place to read up on...

- how it all works
- how to interpret share price movements
- where to find the best analyst reports
- how to play significant changes, like rumours of a merger (eg, do you buy or sell)

Any advice, tips, links, pointers extremely welcome:D

sloth

Jacster wrote:

Hi,

I'm venturing into the stock market, for the first time really. It's small fry I'll be playing with, but a first for me and I want to get it as right as I can.

Where is the best place to read up on...

- how it all works
- how to interpret share price movements
- where to find the best analyst reports
- how to play significant changes, like rumours of a merger (eg, do you buy or sell)

Any advice, tips, links, pointers extremely welcome:D

try the following, all have some useful info on the websites

https://www.fool.co.uk
https://www.moneyextra.com/stocks
https://www.advfn.com

just remember to take a lot of what you read on their forums about share price predictions etc., with a pinch of salt!!

also https://www.bloomberg.co.uk has a lot of data and news

Jacster_2

Thanks for your reply sloth,

I'll read over the links you suggested.

Jacster:D

mbamick

There's some useful educational stuff at Squaregain too Jacs.

They also have an excellent dealiing service, charging a flat fee of £12.50 for every trade. They also have a Refer A friend scheme that gives £50 to the referrer and new customer, after the customer's 1st trade. A friend recommended me, and I used the £50 to offset my second trade.

Obviously, have a look around at other share dealing options; and if you are interested then simply pm me with your email address, and I'll refer you to Squaregain.

Jacster_2

Thanks for your post mbamick.

I'll read through the Education stuff with Squaregain too.

I've already registered (just this week) with Squaregain, but thanks for the offer anyway.:D

mbamick

Good choice Jacster.
Obviously do your own research, but if you fancy a little flutter on something interesting - take a look at STANELCO. They are currently <20 pence, and have some great potential once their exclusivity contract with Asda / Walmart ends early next year.

There's an obvious problem with these penny shares, in that a minor change in price equates to a significant % drop. By that, I mean a 1pence fall = 5% loss; whereas a 1pence fall in higher priced shares is almost negligible. mind you, the converse can be argued when it comes to gains.

I have a portfolio of about 30 shareholdings, including major players such as banks & supermarkets. But I always like to have a little interest in what one could best describe as a "flutter" - I don't put much in, so won't cry too much if it goes down - but smile when it does well.

You'll obviously read a raft of advice on the pages you've been given already. But the most obvious ones must be
"never invest an amount that you are not willing to lose" and
"never put all your eggs in one basket" [there is some techy spiel about risk diversification & market/systematic risk, biut it all boils down to eggs in baskets anyway]; and
"never be too greedy; if you are thinking about selling a share and taking profits, then do it - don;t chase the price a little higher" [my friend did this when BT was at £15.00 a share a few years ago. He was going to sell at Christmas, but decided to hang on a little longer - he still harps on about it now!].

Also, try to take a pragmatic view with your share dealings. Don't expect all your shares to rocket. For every 3 holdings I have, I'm happy if one is doing well, one is about evens, and one is at a loss. Quite often the order will change over time.

A useful example is that of 3 investors. 1 invested everything in ice-cream; 1 invested everything in umbrellas; and 1 invested half in each. The ice-cream guy did very well in hot summers; the umbrella guy did very well in wet winters. Although the guy with a mix of umbrellas and ice-creams only have average results...he had those average results every year, regardless of the weather.

Sorry, didn't mean to turn it into such a long post. Hopefully, you'll find of it useful - just discard the rest of the drivel! And enjoy your new hobby; it's great fun.

Jacster_2

Thanks for taking the time to write such an interesting post mbamick:D

Much appreciated. I found it very useful.

I already have shares with 3 companies (gained through employee sharesave schemes). One is a FTSE 100 long-term hold, one is basically a penny share and there are takeover rumours re the other, so currently debating whether to sell as the price rises or sit and wait for the deal to go through...just like your friend with the BT shares! I'm going to put a small amount of money in for long term growth on top of these (maybe a tracker?), but was thinking of playing a (very!) small amount on penny shares for fun and learning.

And thanks for the tip - I'll take a look at Stanelco.;):D

vicky1_2

fancy a flutter.....try YOO media 10p a share at he moment, over 15p a share by the end of next week, 50p + by this time next year.......mark my words.

Tim_L

Why not use spreadbetting to trade? There's a discussion of this in another thread:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=93125

...and you will avoid dealing fees and stamp duty. It's an excellent way of dabbling in the markets without sinking a lot of capital in.

You won't get rumours of mergers early enough to use them. By the time you get to hear of them they will already be priced in. Concentrate on solid companies you have researched and you believe in, and be prepared to lose money.

deemy2004

Jacster wrote:

Hi,

I'm venturing into the stock market, for the first time really. It's small fry I'll be playing with, but a first for me and I want to get it as right as I can.

Where is the best place to read up on...

- how it all works
- how to interpret share price movements
- where to find the best analyst reports
- how to play significant changes, like rumours of a merger (eg, do you buy or sell)

Any advice, tips, links, pointers extremely welcome:D

Having dabled in stocks for over 20 years I would say ... do your own fundemental research.. avoid analyst / broker reports.

Look to invest based on sound fundementals such as return on Equity, earnings growth, dividend growth and level etc. rather than trade short-term (which is a reciepe for disaster !)

Darryl

If you're venturing into the stock market for the first time, my main advice would be to ensure that you are investing money you can afford to lose.

i.e you're investing spare cash having already saved up a decent emergency savings fund, etc

the www.fool.co.uk website has more of this kind of advice, and I would say it's one of the best sites for beginner investors.

HTH

Darryl