Investing In Shares For The First Time

[SuperBen]

Hi all,

After chatting to a guy at work who has been investing in shares for over a year, I have decided that I would like to start! The only problem really is that I don't have a clue as bad as it sounds!

He invests in his through a website which for the life of me i cannot remember the name of! Is this the easiest way to do it?, if you guys have any do's or dont's please share them with me!

How much should I be looking at investing into shares for my first investment?

Thanks guys

Ben

[RemainAllHoof]

I would look at this thread first:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[5potTurbo]

Please do so wisely, and not based on 'tips from a bloke down the pub' as my wife's uncle did. The muppet.
Use the link already posted above to try out for a starter....

[SuperBen]

Cheers, I'll have a read now.

[ellroy]

A number of online platforms let you put in a dummy portfolio without risking any money.

May be an idea before jumping in with both feet!

Also only actually play with what you can afford to lose!

[cailean]

I suggest you wait until the markets calm down, which may be a while. It will more like gambling in these markets unless you are in it for the long term or know what you are doing.

[zac510]

RemainAllHoof said:

I would look at this thread first:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

That's a horrible thread to start with, it's full of people throwing imaginary money down the drain while openly confessing their only in it for the excitement, neither of which professional trading or investing is.

I've seen better 'introduction to investing' threads here in Finance.

[RemainAllHoof]

zac510 said:

That's a horrible thread to start with, it's full of people throwing imaginary money down the drain while openly confessing their only in it for the excitement, neither of which professional trading or investing is.

I've seen better 'introduction to investing' threads here in Finance.

Well, it'll give him access to a demo and he can learn with them before realising that it is tougher than it looks.

[anonymous-user]

I'd be more inclined to recommend something like this as a starting website

http://www.fool.co.uk/Investing/guides/When-Not-To...

[zac510]

RemainAllHoof said:

Well, it'll give him access to a demo and he can learn with them before realising that it is tougher than it looks.

Nobody in there is learning anything. They have the chance to but they're chasing adrenaline and excitement instead. You know trading is about discipline and if they can't execute discipline with a demo account they have no hope.

I wouldn't want to be learning from the people trading in that thread, they can only serve as a bad influence and distraction from the job.

[zac510]

RemainAllHoof said:

Well, it'll give him access to a demo and he can learn with them before realising that it is tougher than it looks.

Also we need to distinguish between trading (intraday, short, long term?) or investing (>1yr, taking dividends, riding out big negative movements, etc).

[RemainAllHoof]

zac510 said:

Nobody in there is learning anything. They have the chance to but they're chasing adrenaline and excitement instead. You know trading is about discipline and if they can't execute discipline with a demo account they have no hope.

I wouldn't want to be learning from the people trading in that thread, they can only serve as a bad influence and distraction from the job.

Well, really I meant that by the time he's read all 10 pages, he will have figured a few things out in his mind. As you say, it's all about discipline and not about fun. That is evident from the thread.

I also like to direct people to financial-spread-betting.com and making-bread.co.uk and tell them to read everything. Hopefully, they'll either be sick of trading before they've placed a single trade or will have enough insight not to go crazy.

[The Stiglet]

SuperBen said:

Hi all,

After chatting to a guy at work who has been investing in shares for over a year, I have decided that I would like to start! The only problem really is that I don't have a clue as bad as it sounds!

He invests in his through a website which for the life of me i cannot remember the name of! Is this the easiest way to do it?, if you guys have any do's or dont's please share them with me!

How much should I be looking at investing into shares for my first investment?

Thanks guys

Ben

I might be biased because I work here but can I recommend having a look at: http://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/

You can learn all about long term investing and trading, no to mention Share Tips, Funds etc etc. We've just re-launched the website so let me know if you have any feedback!

Cheers