Scooby_Loo

Does anyone know anything about buying and selling shares?

Any experience, good or bad?

I would be grateful for any advice given.

Cheers,

Loo

m18use

Be careful everyone has different advice

StiShrek

Buy low, sell high


case dismissed.

Carlos The Jackel

Thats pretty sound advice

Ray_li

Bought my first lot of shares at the age of 15. Eurotunnel wot a waste a effing money

There is a thing i try to do most years. i like to buy Dixons share a few months b4 xmas then sell b4 or after xmas.

Ray

paul w

Any experience, good or bad?

Yep,the good bit, bought my impreza brand new 3 years ago from profits i made dealing,good investment really as i would have lost more if i still had the shares.

The bad bit,still got some shares but sold most last summer and lost probably alot more than i paid for my car,i have never added it up cos i cannot be arsed and it's only numbers at the end of the day.

Be careful

12LEE

Don't take tips, don't give tips

Read lots and lots and lots and lots (etc) of books.

How deeply do you want to get into this? Fundamental analysis? Technical analysis? What time frame for trading?

One of the best books to give you an insight into trading mentality IMHO is the classic Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefevre. I re-read this anually.

Makalu

Keep your eye on United Utilities Plc.

M.

Jon1T

Golden Rule: Don't put any money in equities that you can't afford to lose.

Invest for the long haul at the moment.

Expect to lose money

Or get into spread betting, short selling, options etc if you want to make - or lose a lot of money quickly.

Diablo

Good advice?

LOL

Don't take financial advice from people you correspond with on a BBS

Speak to a stockbroker or licenced IFA

JoeyDeacon

I'm floating my internet company oldpants.com on the stockmarket next week so I think you should buy shares in that. It's the internet after all so the share value should at least treble in the first day.

Company assets are a few desks and computers but the company is currently valued at £450 million as we have added .com onto the end of our name, hinting that we are some way connected with the internet.

Oh apparently I am about 3 years too late??

Timbo330

There are loads of books and Magazines on sharedealing - go buy some and read them before you do anything.

Next go to a website like FT.com or TD Waterhouse where you can get graphs showing performance of various companies over varying periods of time and can set up 'virtual portfolios'.

Check out how the values of your targetted shares fluctuate regularly - daily and see if you can spot any trends. Bear in mind that nearly every company share is currently worth less than it was 5 years ago due to general (lack of)investor confidence.

If you've got Bloomberg TV on cable that is also worth a regular view.

Some people view the markets' current depression as a golden buying opportunity and it is true to some extent that your shares are (probably) not likely to lose very much more over the coming months but should grow significantly over several years (though there is never any guarantee of this)

If you're looking for short term gains you'll have to 'range trade' - look for shares which regularly fluctuate up and down and buy & sell on a frequent basis with a view to achieving the aforementioned buy-low, sell-high nirvana. This is dangerous unless you've got quite a lot to invest (thousands not hundreds) and can afford to lose it if you get it wrong.

Even Stockbrokers and IFA's aren't going to be much help at the moment (I am an IFA by the way before anyone flames me for being too generalistic) as the current protracted Bear (crap) market has pretty much everyone stumped - just watch Bloomberg!!

merkin

PS. try not to take tips from Bloomberg tv. lets just say the 'experts' on there aren't the most knowledgable people in the world.

CNBC is much better if you have access to it

Also, If it's your first foray into the world of share dealing, I would strongly advise you to stick to at least FTSE250 companies (i.e the biggest 250 companies in the uk)

Scooby_Loo

I don't think I'm stupid enough to listen to someone who names themself JOEYDEACON.

Thanks for the advice guys. I really want to get into it but don't really know that much about shares and stuff (says she who works in the finance directorate of the Department of Trade and Industry ).

Cheers

Loo

Carlos The Jackel

Just find out all the info you can on a company and make your own decisions on it. If these "experts" were so good they would be on a beach somewhere not the TV I watch working lunch sometimes but mainly buy Investors Chronical.

Dave P

Here's a few web sites:

http://www.barclays-stockbrokers.co.uk/
http://www.schwab-worldwide.com/europe/
http://www.gni.co.uk/
http://www.bloomberg.com/

Bottom line is equities are really volatile right now. "Professionals" are struggling to make money so it sure ain't easy for an individual.

Problem is in a bear market you need to be able to sell short as well as go long. i.e. sell something you haven't got and buy it back at a lower price. Now as an individual the only way to do this is to use a spread betting firm.

You need to do lots of research and find a firm with more assets than liabilities.

Good luck

Dave

paul w

Oh forgot to add never takes tips from Tom wankinfrif he has got to be the biggest ramper around all imo though and probably everybody who's ever heard of him ,the guy used to talk ****e,not sure what he does now,anyone know?

Scooby_Loo

lol.

Thanks for that, should make some interesting reading over the weekend

Loo

Midmotorsteve

My whole family plays with share to one extent or another. If your sensible, (now is a great time to buy or rather when the war is a definite) great idea but something to remember. quote from my cousin whose been a merchant banker for 15 years too my dad investor over 25 years :- 'your just a crop to be harvested..the house always wins'

DON'T UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES TAKE THE ADVICE OF ANYONE IN THE FINANCE BUSINESS AS THEY ALL LINE THEIR OWN POCKETS (or EMPLOYERS).

Make your own decisions from reading up on companies own reports..i.e not what the financial times says, the Times will say BUY BUY BUY its reader all do pushing the prices up so the all smile then..everone in the know sells frantically and all the guys not in on it LOSE LOSE LOSE.

Another point if your losing 10% sell if your up 10% sell, if you invest sensibly you should then always see a profit. This is what the merchant bankers do on a daily basis, when you buy it maybe over months as you don't have the £18,000 software connected up to be able to do fast city type transactions but its a good rule.

P.S a good broker with a Hedge fund with say 4 million in it can return about £50,000 a month

hope this helps

Midmotorsteve

p.s. remember it is GAMBLING only put down what you can afford to LOSE!

Midmotorsteve

p.p.s play fantasy shares with the Times next time it comes around, real money prizes, it'll give you a good idea

12LEE

It's not gambling.

Selling when 10% up or down is gambling though. That's known as a Martingale system, just like people do at Roulette tables.

Good point though, money management is crucial and psychcologically hard.

Set stops and trailing stops when you're in profit and stick to them. Only takes about 10 years and several wipe outs to learn that

Trading for a Living by Dr Alexander Elder is another interesting read.

Carlos The Jackel

I use a TD Waterhouse sharedealing account which seems quite good - I assume when I put some money into it, it will never been seen again.....