Stock and shares ISA as a way to start investing?

When I start my graduate job, I am considering opening a stocks and shares ISA where I pay a monthly direct debit into (I am thinking £100 a month). This would be for a long term (probably over 10 years)

The reason for this is that the money in tax-free, interest rates on cash isas are very low and stocks and shares can yield high gains due to compound interest

Of course there is a natural risk and uncertainty with these things, but that is why I plan to have the account for 10+ years to 'ride out' any significant losses

The problem is I do not know where to start. I realise there is no definite answer for this, but considering I am a new investor, willing to have the account for 10+ years, around £100 every month, and, of course with the goal of getting the highest yield possible

I saw that Lloyds offer stocks and share ISAs for low, medium and high risks (which invest in a mixture of property, shares...etc).

Could I go too far wrong opening up a Lloyds medium risk stocks and shares ISA with the aim of £100 a month for the long term? Would you recommend something else?

I hope someone can advise me on this, I have no experience so all opinions welcome

I dont know what the potential gain on a stocks and shares isa but you could just stick your wage in a club lloyds for 4% interest with no risk involved, but then i m not a risk taker money wise.

True. It's tricky because its potentially possible to triple your money over the long term. Its also possible to lose everything lol.

When I start my graduate job, I am considering opening a stocks and shares ISA where I pay a monthly direct debit into (I am thinking £100 a month). This would be for a long term (probably over 10 years)

The reason for this is that the money in tax-free, interest rates on cash isas are very low and stocks and shares can yield high gains due to compound interest

Of course there is a natural risk and uncertainty with these things, but that is why I plan to have the account for 10+ years to 'ride out' any significant losses

The problem is I do not know where to start. I realise there is no definite answer for this, but considering I am a new investor, willing to have the account for 10+ years, around £100 every month, and, of course with the goal of getting the highest yield possible

I saw that Lloyds offer stocks and share ISAs for low, medium and high risks (which invest in a mixture of property, shares...etc).

Could I go too far wrong opening up a Lloyds medium risk stocks and shares ISA with the aim of £100 a month for the long term? Would you recommend something else?

I hope someone can advise me on this, I have no experience so all opinions welcome

I dont know what the potential gain on a stocks and shares isa but you could just stick your wage in a club lloyds for 4% interest with no risk involved, but then i m not a risk taker money wise.

The markets ride up and down and whilst there's the potential to make a lot better than 4% in a stocks and shares ISA, there's also a risk that you won't. Over previous decades, mostly people would have gained, but there's no guarantee that will continue.

One thing OP could look at doing (if they are interested in trying to have more control) is to sign up for one of the big non-bank operators who run platforms (people like Hargreaves and Landsown for example - theirs is the biggest) as they let you examine lots of possible funds and choose precisely how much to put in each every month and to move money between them. So they offer more flexibility and learning than the ones run by Lloyds for example.

Stocks and Shares ISAs are best for long term saving, like the 10 year plan that OP has - for shorter term savings where you want to take money in and out, cash ISAs are better.

I guess the risk is never worth it for me, imagine losing a house deposit over a bad choice, that just terrifies me otherwise i would get into the stock market, besides it's likely my savings will be spent in the next 3 years assuming we get our credit ratings sorted enough to get a mortgage in 2019.

To be fair, I think if you lost a large part of the money in a stocks and shares ISA, it would be because the whole economy had severely crashed and that's highly likely to mean the banks get hammered too, not to mention the whole governmental system, so I think in that scenario it isn't likely that your savings in a bank would be much safer.

The realistic difference is a percentage up or down. Most of these standard cash ISA interest rate offers sound good to start with, but they bring the rates down after a year. You can keep switching, but it's a pain. Generally, even the simplest 'tracker' kind of stocks and shares ISA will probably do better than those in performance, but only if you keep your money in it for some years.

Generally the majority of my money is in non isa accounts as its in he accounts I get through my current account except my help to buy isa so I get the 25% at the end.

Yeah, the help to buy ones are a total no-brainer, if you are in that situation, they are the best thing currently on the market.

I see that Halifax have now dropped the 4% rate they were offering on theirs to 2% though. Others have dropped as well. Too popular evidently.