Buying shares - What research do you do first?
Discussion
Where do you look?
What do you look for?
Do you look at the company's own website?
Do you read annual reports?
Whose opinions do you take into consideration; e.g Investor's Chronicle, family, friends who invest? More importantly perhaps, who, from experience, do you ignore?
Do you set yourself limits beyond which you won't buy, e.g. Maximum Profit to Earnings ratio?
Where, from experience, should you have looked or who to whom should you have listened?
What do you look for?
Do you look at the company's own website?
Do you read annual reports?
Whose opinions do you take into consideration; e.g Investor's Chronicle, family, friends who invest? More importantly perhaps, who, from experience, do you ignore?
Do you set yourself limits beyond which you won't buy, e.g. Maximum Profit to Earnings ratio?
Where, from experience, should you have looked or who to whom should you have listened?
I've (generally!) always bought shares in companies I understand and ones with a management team and vision I believe in.
My biggest mistake was not investing in Apple in 2002(ish) when I got the Gen 1 iPod - I knew it was revolutionary at the time when all my friends still had MiniDisk players. I already had a large number of Amazon shares at the time and after the Dotcom crash didn't fancy adding any more tech stock. Hey ho.
Don't listen to tips from others, don't buy minow oil and gas shares, don't invest in Crypto, don't try catching a falling knife and don't try trading. All of these are going to lead to losses 99% of the time IMO. Buy shares in companies you like and hold them for as long as you possibly can.
If you don't feel confident investing in one company - or want a more diverse portfolio - I would recommend BRK.B shares over any tracker.
My biggest mistake was not investing in Apple in 2002(ish) when I got the Gen 1 iPod - I knew it was revolutionary at the time when all my friends still had MiniDisk players. I already had a large number of Amazon shares at the time and after the Dotcom crash didn't fancy adding any more tech stock. Hey ho.
Don't listen to tips from others, don't buy minow oil and gas shares, don't invest in Crypto, don't try catching a falling knife and don't try trading. All of these are going to lead to losses 99% of the time IMO. Buy shares in companies you like and hold them for as long as you possibly can.
If you don't feel confident investing in one company - or want a more diverse portfolio - I would recommend BRK.B shares over any tracker.
Edited by gregf40mark2 on Sunday 7th April 18:55
Your investment strategy will inform which specific company shares to purchase.
In terms of what I would look at, I'm more of a value investor:
- broader market conditions and fundamentals: what is the trend in terms of bull, bear, sideways, market valuation (CAPE), where are we in the business cycle, interest rates, etc
- sector conditions and fundamentals: similar to broader market, what are the trends and conditions in the sector in which the specific company resides
- company fundamentals: I'm more a value investor so am concerned with low CAPE to market / sector, low debt levels, etc. Stock screener to filter initial candidates, followed up by Company Reports and RNS feed
The above is not fully formed and will be refined to determine which ratios to keep and which to jettison. Growth is important because without growth prospects the share will languish in a value trap i.e. looking good on value fundamentals, but will fail to appreciate year upon year.
I'll pay much more attention to broader market conditions, especially business cycle, and will delve deeper into basic Technical Anlaysis tools to determine the trend and try to time an entry and exit point.
My default position is a passive Global tracker rather than company shares. I'm sitting on the sidelines for the time being whilst I build up my investing knowledge because I want to broaden my reach beyond shares to any under-appreciated asset class that is undervalued and has the potential to appreciate. I also want to know how the various asset classes react in specific market conditions to have a greater understanding of the different asset classes, how they operate, what are the main drivers, and who are the main players.
From experience, actually do the above!
In terms of what I would look at, I'm more of a value investor:
- broader market conditions and fundamentals: what is the trend in terms of bull, bear, sideways, market valuation (CAPE), where are we in the business cycle, interest rates, etc
- sector conditions and fundamentals: similar to broader market, what are the trends and conditions in the sector in which the specific company resides
- company fundamentals: I'm more a value investor so am concerned with low CAPE to market / sector, low debt levels, etc. Stock screener to filter initial candidates, followed up by Company Reports and RNS feed
The above is not fully formed and will be refined to determine which ratios to keep and which to jettison. Growth is important because without growth prospects the share will languish in a value trap i.e. looking good on value fundamentals, but will fail to appreciate year upon year.
I'll pay much more attention to broader market conditions, especially business cycle, and will delve deeper into basic Technical Anlaysis tools to determine the trend and try to time an entry and exit point.
My default position is a passive Global tracker rather than company shares. I'm sitting on the sidelines for the time being whilst I build up my investing knowledge because I want to broaden my reach beyond shares to any under-appreciated asset class that is undervalued and has the potential to appreciate. I also want to know how the various asset classes react in specific market conditions to have a greater understanding of the different asset classes, how they operate, what are the main drivers, and who are the main players.
From experience, actually do the above!
GliderRider said:
Where do you look?
What do you look for?
Do you look at the company's own website?
Do you read annual reports?
Whose opinions do you take into consideration; e.g Investor's Chronicle, family, friends who invest? More importantly perhaps, who, from experience, do you ignore?
Do you set yourself limits beyond which you won't buy, e.g. Maximum Profit to Earnings ratio?
Where, from experience, should you have looked or who to whom should you have listened?
What do you feel the upside of buying individual shares is over something more diversified?What do you look for?
Do you look at the company's own website?
Do you read annual reports?
Whose opinions do you take into consideration; e.g Investor's Chronicle, family, friends who invest? More importantly perhaps, who, from experience, do you ignore?
Do you set yourself limits beyond which you won't buy, e.g. Maximum Profit to Earnings ratio?
Where, from experience, should you have looked or who to whom should you have listened?
Derek Chevalier said:
What do you feel the upside of buying individual shares is over something more diversified?
To be perfectly honest, I guess its the excitement of seeing the greater growth over a short period of time with shares in individual companies that do well. I would just like to get better at selecting the shares and timing when to buy, than my current 'pin the tail on the donkey' method!A quick tally up shows I still have more funds, trusts, etc. than shareholdings in single companies, and they are a fairly diversified bunch.
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