vallumlj

I am currently thinking of buying some shares as a investment. I am looking to start with about £100 just to get me going and to learn a bit first before i invest any more.

I was looking at buying shares in barclays. 2 days ago they were 88p and today they look like they are going to close about 108.

I see a year ago when ever thing was good they were about 600p to buy then.

I am looking at using a company that charges a flat fee when you buy, some one like Hoodless Brennan.

What are your thoughts am i mad ?

How quick can you sell and what are the charges when you do want to sell.

Thanks for any help

scoobymad555

iTrader: (1)

A friend of mine has shares in Barclays that he was left from his grandparents .... they've gone up and down in value over the years but generally they seem to be pretty safe. There's probably others on here that can give better advice than i can but from looking into it a little myself and talking to guys i know that have done it and were doing it for a living, the consistent suggestions seem to be - decide if you want long term or short term investments and pick a market sector then know it before you invest into it.

As for charges, think they vary depending on brokers etc

vallumlj

i want a short term really a quick buck lol

SunnySideUp

Tesco are a safe bet mid-term.

SunnySideUp

For a quick buck you need to act on limits ... say, Barclays - buy at 40p, sell at 60p (thinking of last week) - make use of the current cyclical nature of Bank Shares.

JonnyFresh

Short term I don't think you'll have much luck. Long term might pay off if you find the right shares.
I use halifax share dealer. Costs about 10 quid to buy and sell on each deal i think. I've not used it for a while.

Timwinner

iTrader: (3)

Me too, I do a bit of trading on the side, I did well the first half of last year and then got a kick in the ***** this month.
IMO, and I will get shot down for this, but IMO no more MAJOR banks will go under. they will be the once that come good when things get back on track.
And things will get back on track, ignore the doom mongers.
My top tip for a quick buck is Falklands gold and poundland. Very different businesses but I think you might see a return fairly quickly.
Not sure what kind of money you will be looking at if you invest £100, might make a few quid.

Felix.

A bit 'hit and miss' for short term gains. You need to look at 6 months at a minimum.

Always buy in the FTSE 100 (that’s the top 100 companies) so the chance of them going under is remote.

Use a financial site to look at each of the companies and look at their share price graph over the past 6 months (or longer). You try to select 5 companies who’s share price is currently rising the fastest over the 6 months (steepest gradient on the graph). You then split your money 5 ways and buy shares in these companies.

You are aiming to catch the peak of each share price as it rises – the chances are with 5 companies selected, the majority will continue to rise. Set a limit of either 6 months or if your investment reaches a certain percentage rise – then sell the shares and repeat the process with the new top 5 companies.

scoobymad555

iTrader: (1)

don't we all! other ones to look at are the jap markets and the currency ones from talking to a friend who's uncle (i know, i know lol!) makes his living from them. Can make some absolute killings in a very short time (as in hours or less) but the downside is paying a subscription to use the software that allows you to do it yourself and also having to stay up till stupid o clock in the morning to see the hectic parts of their markets.

There's also a bigger risk in this sector though since it tends to fluctuate pretty wildly .... so i'm told, it can end up with severe kick in the ba11s syndrome if ya get it wrong

Felix.

Fool.co.uk - The UK financial news and comparison website

is quite a good site with a forum to share ideas on investments.

Deep Singh

I'm sorry to say you will almost defo lose your money unless you do some reading first (and then you still may)

You can't invest in shares just because somebody gives you a tip without understanding whats going on underneath. You need to at least understand what terms like PE/forward PE/NAV/dividend etc mean. You also need an insight into chartist theory to be able to track trends and movements.

If you are really trying to make a fast buck without putting the homework in you will almost certainly lose your money

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Its like the property buy to let boom, its easy to make money, even as a novice in an ascendant market, witness all the smug Dinkies on all those house programmes that "made" 150k and are already looking for their next (bigger) project, glass of wine with Sarah Beeny, jobs a goodun, shares are the same, if you have some money, pile it into a good tip when things are stable and watch it go up, sell it and you are a share trader, the current situation shows that even those who know the markets get it very wrong, its all a gamble, if you cant afford to lose it, dont gamble it.

I have joined our share option scheme, £250 (thats the max) a month for 3 years, we get to buy the shares a bit cheaper than the price at the time and then I can either buy them or just take interest as the money has been in the Halifax for the meantime, so nine grand over three years, potentially make a wedge and if the share price has fallen, no worse off, to good an offer to turn up, its not often you get to buy shares with no risk, its a good job as the rest of ours have taken a right pounding, still its nice to think I have personally paid for a Bankers Excess, Rednecks House and a Governments complacency.

Moley

iTrader: (9)

I did the same recently, stuck £100 to have a bit of a play.

Bought some Pru shares at first, and managed to get a £50 profit, and re-invested the money again.

Am currently watching Gcm. Bought at 32p and they rocketed to 118p - but i didn't check them and they're back down again. Have started to move back up though, must remember to keep an eye on them this time!!!

nik52wrx

I'm thinking about picking up some RBS shares which are pretty low at the moment, 20p ish.
I'll sit on them and hopefully they will increase in value over time
Nik.

Skoobie Dhu

iTrader: (3)

Short term £100 punt - HAWK or IVE on the AIM. Both expecting news in the next couple of weeks.

DYOR (try the ADVFN forum)

Easiest way to buy sell is with an online account - I use selftrade.

IanF

Bear in mind that if you are only going to invest £100, and you use online broker at £10 per trade, it's gonna cost you £20 to buy and sell, so the shares have to go up 20% before you even cover your costs.

I'd have a punt at Tottenham Hotspur, looks like threat of relegation has been priced in, so should see 20% gain if they avoid it, guess it depends on whether you think Harry can do the business! At least it will be fairly short term, by May you'll (and they'll) either be up or down.

For a more sensible mid/long term option go for the banks, although there might be a few short term shocks. I bought LBG at £1.00 few weeks back, dropped 70% within days, but now back up to £1.00. Once LBG announce that they will start to pay dividends again, probably early 2010, the price will soar as they have always returned very good dividend yield.

Good luck

RyanSTI

iTrader: (1)

if your gonna invest, do it in tescos. they'll be around forever.

MrJim

agree with sunnysideup i do the same buy and sell quick and make a smaller but quick profit, who wants to wait for ages

Diesel

I sussed Tesco 5 years ago (GREAT company) and watched record profits and results every quarter. Think I made about £150 on a few grand before I thought 'cash 'em in and get better return from riding a motorbike ...

>CYNIC ALERT< The only people that make profit out of stocks and shares and small fry's typical £5k investment are the tw@ts who buy and sell them for a living.

Top Stockmarket tip - if you are in a Scoob and he is in a Bentley, think twice...

Here's to my pension and his Bentley ...

D