Buying shares

[Captainron]

Anyone on here do a bit of investing in their spare time?

I'm thinking of buying a few shares in a company and wanted to get opinions on how to do this. I'm not a big risk taker with cash so only going to be putting in a couple of hundred pounds. I'm not looking to build up a big portfolio but rather have a punt on this particular company.

Hit me with it

 

[Hobbit]

Is it in a blossoming industry?

What are its competitors doing?

What are its last 5 years account like, and what have the dividends been like?

Has there been a change in the board?

Are all its eggs in just a few baskets?

Don't forget to factor in buying and selling costs.

If its a small company which you have some insider knowledge about, buy a few but look to move them on before their current projects end.

If I'm buying, its blue chip and for the long haul. If it were that easy to make lots of money, everyone would be doing it. High risk = high reward but more often than not it'll be a loss.

 

[fundy]

Assuming youre not fussed about being on the share register and voting rights at the AGM etc then easiest option is just to open a nominee account with an online bank or platform and buy the shares you want.

The problem you will have is that you are going to be charged either for having the account and/or each time you buy or sell shares and if you are only buying a few hundred quids worth these charges are going to be quite high as a percentage of the money invested, meaning they have to appreciate much more just to cover your fees before you make a profit.

Hargreaves Lansdown is a simple to use platform, albeit probably not the cheapest option, will cost you about 12 pound a trade i think

Feel free if you have any more Qs, ill try my best albeit I do very little these days, I used to be a very active trader

 

[Captainron]

Cheers lads. Its a single company that I am looking to invest in based on a chat I had over a couple of beers with a risk manager for a large investment firm in South Africa last week. Company is being floated soon and I want to jump in at the start. As I said, won't be going huge as I would rather stick the cash in a pension or holiday (depending on my mood./shocking weather at the time).

Trading wise, there should only be 2 transactions. Buying them and selling them (all in one go) so £12 doesn't seem killer. I will have a look at Hargreaves Lansdown :thup:

 

[fundy]

Cheers lads. Its a single company that I am looking to invest in based on a chat I had over a couple of beers with a risk manager for a large investment firm in South Africa last week. Company is being floated soon and I want to jump in at the start. As I said, won't be going huge as I would rather stick the cash in a pension or holiday (depending on my mood./shocking weather at the time).

Trading wise, there should only be 2 transactions. Buying them and selling them (all in one go) so £12 doesn't seem killer. I will have a look at Hargreaves Lansdown :thup:

Floatation makes it slightly different, is there an IPO and are you able to buy through that? If not do you know what exchange its being listed on (I assume UK not SA?)

 

[Captainron]

Floatation makes it slightly different, is there an IPO and are you able to buy through that? If not do you know what exchange its being listed on (I assume UK not SA?)

UK listing and what's an IPO?

 

[fundy]

UK listing and what's an IPO?

IPO is initial public offering

When a company goes public for the first time the shares are offered to purchase before the listing on the exchange starts. Usually pitched at a level just below what they think they should be to ensure a full uptake of the shares and often means an initial profit for those investing from day 1 (not always!)

 

[TheDiablo]

Mine are with HL. Fees ever so slightly higher higher than industry average, but with a very good user interface and customer service. Perfect for a casual investor.

 

[Cherry13]

I use HL as well for mine. I find the app really good for checking daily and not getting to bogged down in detail. If I want detail then I’ll typcially go over to III and check there, have a look at discussion boards etc.

Never got in at IPO before, but I have been looking recently to get in at that level. Not keen on any of the big ones like Spotify or anything international but it’s defintely an area where you can make a quick turnover.

If this is your first time investing, be warned it can become addictive...

 

[badgb21]

HL for me too. There may be some extra one-off paperwork for overseas trading (was for US) but it's no big issue. Once set up, it's then very easy.
Good luck with your investments!

Few beer, IPO, South African.....doesn't sound like one for widows and orphans!

 

[Mudball]

Assuming it is not a Nigerian Prince, it can be very interesting..

HL is a good service, However if you are getting in early, it almost sounds like they may not be listed. In such a case HL may not be of much use as this may be a private placement. They may have a minimum investment levels or may not be open to all retail customers.

If you are confident then put more money into it. If you win, then you can have a couple of holidays. If you lose then skimp on one holiday and you learned some valuable lessons. Remember scared money does not make money.

 

[Deleted member 18121]

Hargreaves Lansdown is who my pension is with, I've also had a share trading account with sharetrade. Both are very good.

I've worked in the industry for 17 years so know a thing or two.

Only issue I can see with your original post is that you want to invest in a company that is due to float. In all likelihood the normal platforms won't be setup to trade in it, unless it's a big float. Maybe get in contact with them first and see if they can support the deal and get in the IPO.

 

[User62651]

I also have an HL account, just a fund type ISA for now which has done ok but can deal shares if I want.

Maybe read a book about it - The Naked Trader is one I read, not quite an idiots guide but explains things quite well for the novice. Also steers people of certain characteristics like impetuosity, impatience, risk takers, gamblers etc away from trading as really you need to play the long game and work on small modest gains over time to make it work for you.

I believe for good investors they always look at a company's debt before buying shares, large debt is what can cripple a seemingly buoyant company if that debt gets called in when confidence falls in markets. Author of that book never invests if debt is disproportionately big.