Investments, Day trading etc.
Investments, Day trading etc.
Author
Discussion

KingRichard

Original Poster:

10,146 posts

255 months

Monday 18th July 2005
quotequote all
Hi guys,

After some information on investments in stocks and shares.

I have a hankering for some risk... I'm still young so I'm not so worried about pensions etc just yet.

Would it be best to Day Trade if I was only looking to dip into the market and out again, just sniping opportunities as they come up, and be clear at the end of the day?

I intend to trade 2 days a week if thats any help.

I also know very little about how to trade and don't want to do it blind, obviously that would be very foolish. Is there a training course fund managers use etc. where I can learn the game?

All help appreciated :D

Cheers

Dave

Big Al.

69,328 posts

281 months

Monday 18th July 2005
quotequote all
Honest opinion? Don't give up your day job!

Been following the FTSE now for two years on a daily basis, conclusion I haven't got a clue what's gonna happen today or tomorrow.

There's no easy money to be made on day trading unless you trade for a living.

What sort of money are you thinking of playing with?

wtd

818 posts

256 months

Monday 18th July 2005
quotequote all
Wouldn't bother mate, you'd be raped by the big boys who have faster execution, better knowledge, better analysts and it's not their money

If you fancy losing some cash with a bit of a gamble consider doing to spread betting, essentially CFD trading online.

www.igindex.co.uk/
www.igmarkets.com/
www.cantorindex.co.uk/

Please remember though that these are contingent liability investments, meaning you can lose more than you initially invested, so be careful...

ATG

22,940 posts

295 months

Monday 18th July 2005
quotequote all
Big Al. said:
There's no easy money to be made on day trading unless you trade for a living.
Even if you trade for a living it ain't easy

If I was looking for a flutter, I'd go the CFD root too. Can play currencies, indexes and other stuff too.

KingRichard

Original Poster:

10,146 posts

255 months

Tuesday 19th July 2005
quotequote all
Not looking to give up the day job by any means... just found one I love

I'll have a look at this spread betting a bit later when I have time, would it be such a problem if I had a broker that could execute fast?

Like I said... no real experience of trading so more info the better.

Thanks guys

Dave

noel

586 posts

276 months

Monday 25th July 2005
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In a previous life I was a 'local' in the futures market, some of the guys who couldn't get enough during the day used one of the gambling web sites to avoid taxation on gains. I think betfair was the preferred option.

The reality of the situation is you'll get handed your arse in most trades you make unless you really do your home work and spend a great deal of time learning how the market behaves.

If you enjoy it though go for it, you just might make a few quid.

jas xjr

11,309 posts

262 months

Friday 26th August 2005
quotequote all
as a total amatuer it is still possible to make money from the stock market, i used to.
the main thing i found and i am sure others are better qualified to advise you, is that you need to do a lot of research...that takes time.
but my way of doing things was to follow trends in the market, eg a few years ago breweries were being bought up, so i looked around and bought into one that was a profitable business anyway and sat back and waited. luckily within three months i saw a 40% increase in share price.
having said that i prefer to deal with something tangible..property.
i have properties let out and others i buy develope and sell on. but i did make my start up money on the stock market.
you do need some balls of steel to deal in shares, i bought BIG when the markets crashed in 1987,was it? took at least two years to make any kind of real return iirc.oh and they crashed heavily again after i had bought using every bit of spare cash i had

leosayer

7,678 posts

267 months

Saturday 27th August 2005
quotequote all
I work for an investment firm and would do this if I didn't have to get approval for every single deal that I do and if I had the time. The best way to learn about it quickly is to buy some shares, watch the prices go up and down and try to learn what influences this. To do this you'll need to keep an eye on business news in the papers or online.

Start off small and be prepared to lose half your money if you choose badly. Also start off buying companies that you are familiar with and use common sense. Spread your investments over different industries, different countries, different risk (ie. buy small cos and big ones) and different investment vehicles like Investment Trusts, Investment Funds, Property Funds, Corporate Bonds and Government Bonds. The more you diversify, the lower your risk to massive market movements.

If you make over £8.5k in a tax year you will be liable to CGT. To avoid this, put the shares in an ISA wrapper (I'm sure some providers allow you to do day trading on an ISA).

Good luck, let us know how you get on.

KingRichard

Original Poster:

10,146 posts

255 months

Wednesday 31st August 2005
quotequote all
leosayer said:
I work for an investment firm and would do this if I didn't have to get approval for every single deal that I do and if I had the time. The best way to learn about it quickly is to buy some shares, watch the prices go up and down and try to learn what influences this. To do this you'll need to keep an eye on business news in the papers or online.

Start off small and be prepared to lose half your money if you choose badly. Also start off buying companies that you are familiar with and use common sense. Spread your investments over different industries, different countries, different risk (ie. buy small cos and big ones) and different investment vehicles like Investment Trusts, Investment Funds, Property Funds, Corporate Bonds and Government Bonds. The more you diversify, the lower your risk to massive market movements.

If you make over £8.5k in a tax year you will be liable to CGT. To avoid this, put the shares in an ISA wrapper (I'm sure some providers allow you to do day trading on an ISA).

Good luck, let us know how you get on.


Cheers mate, I'll look into that

johnfm

13,739 posts

273 months

Friday 2nd September 2005
quotequote all
forex (foreign exchange) can be fun.

Look at www.oanda.com

There is a 'game' trading platform. You can open an account and 'trade' with real world figures in real time. If you think you can 'do it' you can then open a real account and make or lose money.

It has decent leverage available so you can make some pin money if you are any good.

KingRichard

Original Poster:

10,146 posts

255 months

Tuesday 6th September 2005
quotequote all
johnfm said:
forex (foreign exchange) can be fun.

Look at www.oanda.com

There is a 'game' trading platform. You can open an account and 'trade' with real world figures in real time. If you think you can 'do it' you can then open a real account and make or lose money.

It has decent leverage available so you can make some pin money if you are any good.


Top tips then, what affects the exchange rate? I've never been great with economics

johnfm

13,739 posts

273 months

Wednesday 7th September 2005
quotequote all
sheesh - quite a few things affect currency vales - not least supply and demand!

I am no day trading wizard at all - but there are some good forums at the oanda site.

My only tip is that there is no such thing as a 'free' lunch. Nobody will learn how to make a living trading currencies (or anything else for that matter) by saking a few questions. Just trade for a year or so on th e'game' platform. Pick a few 'good' currency pairs that that are succesful for you, devise your strategy and trade.

Good luck