bluenosewrx

iTrader: (2)

Please excuse my ignorance.

I bought £1k worth of RBS shares when they were low(14p) and now they are slowly going up and down each day.

i bought them as my ISA was doing fu** all and i can afford (just) to risk the money.its for the long term ,ie years away but something on the news worried me today.

If the government fully takes over the bank,ie 100% ownership, what happens to my shares, do i get anything back or is it all lost.

Thanks in advance.

Mac

Petem95

If RBS was nationalised, then you wouldn't lose everything - but you would probably only get a very small amount per share - maybe 1p.

That's the whole reason why RBS shares are so cheap!...

Similar thing happened to Northern Rock. I dived in and bought some when they were very cheap (60p or something), and they more than doubled, but then the bank was nationalised. Still hasn't been said what share-holders will get, but it'll be between 1-5p each I expect. I lost about £1k there, but you win some you lose some. Lost more before with shares.

With RBS I actually decided to have a little gamble and bought a few at 12.5p each. They're double that now, but of course it's a gamble - could either be a good longterm bet (5years +) or may lose the lot! (pretty much anyway - as with NR, would prob still get 1p per share if they were nationalised, and they're already 70% governent owned!...)

With shares it's not just about buying right, you need to sell at the right time too! Always be able to afford to lose what you invest"!

john banks

Bank shares at risk of nationalisation should IMHO be considered more risky than penny shares because of the high chance of nationalisation where you will lost nearly all if not all your money. You are gambling on political events, since the markets would already have made these banks bust if it wasn't for political interference.

2009 is about the return of your capital rather than the return on your capital, as many have said.

bluenosewrx

iTrader: (2)

Cheers guys,

If i cashed them in tomorrow i would make 9p per share and i bought 6,780 of them, even went up to 30p on Thur.

As said i can afford to lose on it however the gains that are possible seem worth the risk for the long term.

Is there any other stuff i should look for before selling, would hate to sell them and then a year later they have went up in value tenfold.

Mac

Timwinner

iTrader: (3)

I like that kind of risk, You have a nice set of ***** (said like borat). If nationalization goes ahead you will loose most your money.
If not and its rescued from else where you will make a decent profit.

I remember when I did something similar years ago with a company called Dragon oil.
I held on for a day too long and got dumped on, But it was so close.....so very close.......

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

How much of that profit if you cashed in now would be eaten up by commission? Or do you pay when you buy them, again if so how much did you have to pay please.

bluenosewrx

iTrader: (2)

I paid comision when i bought them and it was factored into the total cost but i think it was no more the £15, i paid 14.6p per share and got 6,780 or was it 6,820 for £997.00(roughly)

It varies every day but has never went below what i paid and they stand at 23.00p as of friday. so approx 50% profit and could have doubled my money on thur as they went past 30p at one point.

Thing is that at their highest they were 402p, if they went to half of that in a few years i could walk away with 15k, no ISA in the world could give you that, however as you know its a risk but one which i could live with if it went ti*s up.

Mac

cookstar

iTrader: (6)

Worth a punt then.

Did you buy them through your bank, or did you have to set an account up?

SunnySideUp

I would sell half your holdings and therefore getting most of your initial outlay back ............... I would let the rest ride as a free punt!!

jonc

Thing with dealing with shares is always the question of whether you should hold on or not. Yeah you could make more if you held on, but equally you could loose the lot.

First you need to decide whether the investment is short, medium or long term. My advice is don't be too greedy. You will never to be able to accurate predict what is going to happen to a certain stock so set a realistic target price for when you want to sell a proportion or all., eg 10-15% profit and then move on to the next one.

IMO bank stocks are extremely risky at the moment and may be suitable for day trading but not as a long term punt. We will never see the levels of pricing for bank stocks like that of a year or so a go.

nixxon

Google "share dealing" and you'll get a raft of options between £10 and £15 per purchase or sale. Pretty negligible really.
I use Halifax, but only 'cos I'm lazy.

renny

iTrader: (2)

I too bought some but not quite as many as you.

The way i look at shares is if you can't afford to lose the money invested then it's best not to bother. I've invested in shares in the past when prices were low and sold too quickly - regretted it but i made a half decent profit so was happy nonetheless.

This time i'm going long term with these,if i lose my money then so be it - it isn't a huge amount at the end of the day.

Your circumstances may be different to mine but if you're worried about losing your money then probably best doing what Pete has said,sell half now so you get your money back and keep the rest long term as a little bonus.

Good luck either way

Neanderthal

iTrader: (6)

I've got a shed load of Taylor Wimpey shares. Was in the company share save scheme whilst they were merging together, prices went up to £5ish. Great I thought, my option price when the scheme matured was £2.38 I'll be quids in.... They matured a few months later, share price was £2.50 so I just took the shares and thought I'd wait till they go up again.
That was over a year ago now, the lowest price they've dropped to so far is 4p!!!
I've since bought a load more just to get my average cost/share down to something a little more realistic (23p). I'll just hold on to them now till the industry improves.

paulr

And thats exactly why the economy is so screwed up. Money should be the product of a decent days work, not from "gambling" on share prices. Its the attitude of easy money that is at the bottom of the whole damm mess.

bluenosewrx

iTrader: (2)

But its our choice surely and it MY money that i am losing, not yours!!!!
i have now bought some taylor wimpey ones a swell now, only £50 but again its MY choice.

And its hardly life changing sums we are on about here, direct you anger to some of the leeches who are gambling away millions of OTHER peoples money.

Mac

paulr

Thats even easier, gambling other people's money.

bluenosewrx

iTrader: (2)

Seems someones got all the answers, no point in carrying on.lol

Mac

Timwinner

iTrader: (3)

Jog on fella, I do work hard, If I want to make a bit on the side then surely its a good thing, I pay tax, I pay NI, the extra make I pump back into the economy by eating out, buying cars etc.

hodgy0_2

rule no 1 you don't get rich betting your own money

paulr

Hey, no problem, i didnt mean to give you greif.
If i wanted to buy some shares, and lets face it interest rates are pooh, i'd go for Amazon. They are becoming a brand like M&S, Tesco etc. Also in a recession people bargain hunt and Amazon always beat the high street.