Anyone else dabble a bit in the markets i use a great platform site called interactive investor and have am doing ok :D My shares are up 15% in 2 days and i expect them to continue to rise this week. Currently on a profit so not just making losses back result :)

lol... wish I had the money to spare.... every month takes me to the edge of my overdraft...

i do

 

i work for an investment bank though so there are all sorts of rules i have to comply with - what i can buy, how long i have to keep it for - which does take some of the fun out of it. and they have just banned us all from spread betting - but that could actually be a good thing...

i do

 

i work for an investment bank though so there are all sorts of rules i have to comply with - what i can buy, how long i have to keep it for - which does take some of the fun out of it. and they have just banned us all from spread betting - but that could actually be a good thing...

 

Want a proxy... I'll do it for 30% ;)

i do

 

i work for an investment bank though so there are all sorts of rules i have to comply with - what i can buy, how long i have to keep it for - which does take some of the fun out of it. and they have just banned us all from spread betting - but that could actually be a good thing...

 

any tips then ;) :D

 

I have a small amount - have increased by about 20% - certainly better than a bloody saving account!! :cursing:

I've always liked the idea of this, I'm at the age where I have disposable income so it would be a good idea to invest some of it. closest i got was a practice account on forex.com, but that didn't last too long, thought it was way to easy to loose. I really wouldn't know where to start with shares though....

i used to do currency trading on forex however it was risky as you only put up what you stand to lose so the trade would sell automatically if it dropped to your min.

 

With this you just buy shares and wait for them to rise then sell. No real chance of losing everything it just costs £10 per transaction buy or sell but then the tax man starts to take a small cut on bigger deals.

 

At the moment im in with an oil exploration company called Rockhopper. The future is properous :D

have you got any more details on what you're using?

http://www.iii.co.uk look on there and go to share dealing its all there

I do have a few small investments in quoted shares - but I tend to just leave them running, as i have no need (or desire in the current climate) to cash them in......

 

My main investments are in share ISAs though - I invest my full allowance each tax year with a company called Investec. I forget how many I have on the go now - but the monthly income is currently over £400 per month and it's tax free!

 

Richard:yes:

http://www.awesomepennystocks.com

 

I subscribe to this newsletter as well, stocks on a budget...lol..

 

Usually come up trumps..

http://www.awesomepennystocks.com

 

I subscribe to this newsletter as well, stocks on a budget...lol..

 

Usually come up trumps..

 

ah awesome thats where they all start :)

yep...

 

its like starting on the 2p arcade machines, then the 10p fruities.. then the casino's...lol...

 

anybody looking to have a dabble and see how it works, good place to start I feel???

Seriously, don't start in penny stocks unless you can afford to lose it all.

 

They can be a goldmine, but only if you know what you are doing. Most stocks at those prices are that cheap for a reason.

Seriously, don't start in penny stocks unless you can afford to lose it all.

 

They can be a goldmine, but only if you know what you are doing. Most stocks at those prices are that cheap for a reason.

 

Think thats good advice period mate with stocks and shares...

Think thats good advice period mate with stocks and shares...

 

True that!

i used to do currency trading on forex however it was risky as you only put up what you stand to lose so the trade would sell automatically if it dropped to your min.

 

With this you just buy shares and wait for them to rise then sell. No real chance of losing everything it just costs £10 per transaction buy or sell but then the tax man starts to take a small cut on bigger deals.

 

At the moment im in with an oil exploration company called Rockhopper. The future is properous :D

 

Think I am going to have a little flutter when pay day comes. I'll be hounding you for advice though.

 

I liked the forex thing with the stop losses, but it was way to unpredictable, and i still don't fully understand how it all works.

my main tip would be not to listen to anyone who tells you that they know which way the market is going to go - at best it will be an educated guess! unless they have inside information, which can land you in jail.

 

if you're looking to dabble smallish amounts and just take a few punts, then spread betting is a much cheaper way to do it that buying shares - but you need to understand how it works otherwise you can be in for some nasty surprises.

 

unless you're playing with big sums, you might struggle to make a decent profit on shares vs. the money you have risked. i'd say you need to trade in chunks of at least £1000 to make it worthwhile otherwise your fees will eat away too much of your profit

e.g

buy shares for £500

pay 0.5% stamp duty = £2.50

pay broker fee £10

cost = £512.50

 

stock goes up 5% (which is quite a respectable gain!)

 

you sell for £525

pay broker fee of £10 so get £515

 

profit of £2.50 which is a return of less than 0.5% (when the stock went up by ten times that amount and could just as easily have gone down)

 

do the same trade with £5k and your return is 4%

 

 

if you're looking to invest longer term, then buy shares and/or funds. look for things that have historically paid good dividends, look at their price history and buy when the market dips - and use your ISA allowance to do it, like richard does.

 

and always look out for the fees!!! there is a reason banks make a lot of money (ignoring the last couple of years...) and it isn't usually because they are extremely clever and make the right bets - its by taking fees for helping other people make the bets.

 

if that all sounds a bit negative, it isn't meant to - its not as scary as it might sound, especially if you're fairly good with numbers. i think more people should get involved. just do it with your eyes open.

 

 

 

i don't know how to link to the full thread but this is a post of mine from back in dec 09 on a similar topic

 

spread betting is essentially a bet on which way a stock or index is going to move. you have an account with a broker which you are required to put money into to cover your open bets.

 

betting on single stocks is generally much more risky than on indices.

 

a simple example (ingnoring fees etc.)

- FTSE is at 5300 and you think its going to rise

- you open a position at "£1 per point"

- if the FTSE goes up to 5305 (i.e. up 500 points) you could close your position for £500 profit.

- if it goes down to 5295 then you are sitting on a £500 loss.

 

its a bit more complex that that in practice but thats the idea.

 

that there is no stamp duty, and profits aren't liable for capital gains tax - like when you buy shares. which is good.

 

if your bets are leveraged, then you can potentially stand to lose more than your initial outlay, and if you don't monitor your trades closely and set tight stoploss limits then things can turn in the wrong direction pretty quickly. which is bad

 

if you're looking at it as a bit of fun, prepeared to treat it as a gamble, and comfortable with the idea of losing some money, then by all means have a go but i'd reccomend you pick no more than a few stocks or indices and whatch them for a while before opening a bet, keep your bets small and don't leave them open for too long. perhaps have a practice on a "virtual portfolio" site first.

 

if you are looking to get into the markets as a way of investing for the future, aren't that comfortable with risking your money, and have a longer-term view then stay clear. you'd be better off drip feeding money into a tracker fund (which basically aim to follow the performance of an index over time) you can do this within an isa. once you get more familiar, you might want to look at managed funds (where the fund manager has more scope to buy/sell assets in the fund as prices move in order to try and beat the performance of an index) or start buying shares yourself

 

IG index is one of the main sites for spreadbetting

moneysavingexpert is a good general site for savings and investments advice

fool.co.uk is another good one and has lots of different message boards

 

not sure if any of that is helpful. all my own opinion, of course...

Just an example of where mine is at I have a grand in shares are up about 8% on my buy price and im on 70 quid profit after fees. Now I've not been doing it long but it is proving to be a nice little earner on the side.

 

However I would say you need to know the company, what they do and where their business is at which I do. Its all educated guess but is working for me :)

thats pretty good going!

 

my shares are worth about 9k at the moment but that same pot was worth less than 8k a week or two ago!

 

20% up on a couple of stocks, 30% down on others since i bought them - its all good fun though :)

I invested long from '98 to 2008 and did pretty well. as someone said, be patient and what I found is if you spread your investment across a few positions you usually find only one dog in the bunch. anyway... I saw about a 400% return over those 10 years.

 

hmm All your money in one position - bottom line. That is gambling. and just like at the races you could see a handsome return. but just as likely, it could go tits up.

Advice.

1. Now that you are up. Run a Stop loss. There is NO Shame in taking a profit, how little it is. I know guys with over $500K in their portforlios who have been in on a winner early in the day. Taken their profits at a $1 gain only to see it go up $4 on the day. Not once do they regret their decision and think "What if"... that would an emotional response. The Professional Trader view is that you traded at a gain. SO... STOP LOSS your profits and don't get greedy.

2. The System is rigged against Retail Investors. Full Stop, whenever MM's can steal your money from you.. they will. They walk prices up and down to grab cheap shares ( on people who set Stop Losses too Tight and also to feign a Run to get people to jump on this Obvious Upward Trend.

3. Do your DD. Come to your own conclusions and come to your own trading strategies. And most importantly stick with your strategy. If you waiver and change with ever turn of the corner.. more often than not you see people chasing losses, sooner than later.

 

--try looking at iHub for information. Also SA ( Seeking Alpha ). Be aware though that as nice & helpful as many you will meet on places like iHub.. you never know what their real motives are. So take EVERYTHING you read from other posters and many times Analysts as well, with a pinch of salt.

 

Good Luck to you and I hope you make a killing. Remember you are only really "up" when you sell for a profit. Paper Gains are worthless until you realise that gain by selling that gain.

SpreadBetting Companies. I've worked with pretty much all of the ones you see Advertise and have put in the programmers who developed the platforms on 2 major companies.

 

They realisation: Everyone Losses Their Money. ok maybe it's only 90%... but their philsophy is that everyone will pretty much lose in the end.

 

So much so that about 4 or 5 years ago most stopped hedging most positions. (They no longer feel is good business to place the oppositve bet of yours and take a small transactional % on every trade ) --Rather, they've realised that most, if not all the guys sticking in £500 or £5000 into their account know fook-all and will lose it all within months, if not sooner. So they are content to be the recipients of your money. In effect when you put a bet on their site, that bet never hits the market. They are taking the risk themselves. IF, you are fortunate enought to double this £5000 or even better... they start watching your trades like a hawk... as, as far as they see it.... you've just taken £5,000, £10,000 from them... etc.

 

remember. Spread Betting is probably the most evil instrument introduced to the Retail Investor... for the sole purpose of separating him from his investment.

 

**I know I probably sound jaded and negative... but I work with investment banks, exchanges and have with spreadbetting firms since 2003. You Can beat these guys.. But you either have to be very, very clever... or Lucky :)

I find it a lot less risky than gambling as i know what the company is up to therefore have a good guess at what the stock is gonna do with the news reports that will come out.

 

to make any money on a stock you need a substantial amount in otherwise you are chasing pennies everyday and making up the trade fees before you are in the green so on smaller deals there is more of a gap to be made up.

 

Also a gamble by definition is where you stand to lose all isnt it? In my novice opinion i dont think Rockhopper are going to go bankrupt therefore i would never lose all my money :)

 

Spread betting to me sounds like gambling just be the name so im quite happy to go it alone and make my little profits and get up to bigger sums. Also im not looking at long term investments more short term of say 2 weeks at the most. It seems to be working well as i have found a company that i know what is going on with them i think that is what its all about :)