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How do I dabble in shares?

Hi,

I want to dabble in shares and wondered the best way to choose them? Has anyone got any experience?

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I'd love to too lol. I always get warned on the 'net though that there are just people out there to steal your money. If there was a simple option where you could buy a share, sit around and see if it goes up or down (no complicated stuff, just small investments) then that would be great.
True. What I wanting to know is what kind of things does one look at to make an informed decision? I am prepared to take some degree of risk in order to speculate to accumulate.
Reply 3
Avatar for Quady
Quady
20
You don't really dabble in shares.

Trade, invest or go home.

First question is how much do you have to dabble with? If its less than a grand then dealing commission and stamp duty will make it tougher to make a reasonable profit.
Reply 4
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Quady
20
Original post by JoshDawg
I'd love to too lol. I always get warned on the 'net though that there are just people out there to steal your money. If there was a simple option where you could buy a share, sit around and see if it goes up or down (no complicated stuff, just small investments) then that would be great.


You can. Sign up to a broker, eg
http://www.hl.co.uk/investment-services/fund-and-share-account/open-a-fund-and-share-account

Select a share, buy it, then click sell when you want to sell.

Its as easy as Ebay.
Thanks. But how do I go about selecting the shares? What do I need to look at when doing my research?
Reply 6
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Reue
20
Original post by Simonthegreat
Thanks. But how do I go about selecting the shares? What do I need to look at when doing my research?


There are a million different books and tactics with picking shares. If anyone knew for certain then they wouldnt be telling other people.. would they? Go do some basic research on investment specific websites.
Original post by Simonthegreat
Hi,

I want to dabble in shares and wondered the best way to choose them? Has anyone got any experience?

I'd strongly recommend fantasy shares at first, that's what I did. Then read the WSJ and look out for AGMs and expanding industries and other news concerning business.
(edited 8 years ago)
Reply 8
Avatar for Quady
Quady
20
Original post by Simonthegreat
Thanks. But how do I go about selecting the shares? What do I need to look at when doing my research?


P/E ratio
PEG
Gearing
Yield
Director dealings
Technical analysis
Your anticipation of growth vs the market
Your view on interest rates

Or just throw a dart at a board.
You don't "dabble" in shares. That's a recipe for disaster.
Original post by Simonthegreat
Thanks. But how do I go about selecting the shares? What do I need to look at when doing my research?


Read Lex van dam's book on how to trade, and the naked trader. Best advice on how to do it is in there. Just make sure you have the resilience to keep going after initial losses.
one of the best one's a college friend of mine has is mitchell and butlers who are the owners of brand names including harvester and toby carvey and he get on top of his dividends -exclusive money off vouchers from the he has about £400 staked in them and will make a profit within 5 years not including the voucher savings of 20% of everything you order in one sitting if you use a voucher
he's also got bt, bp and the intercontinental hotel group shares same approximate figures in each in his portfolio as well as some solid gold backing in the form of canadian maples and british brittanias totalling around 4 t.oz
It's a total mug's game especially if you are "dabbling".

Traders are not rich because of the market but because of commissions on huge amounts of other people's/institutions' money.

Only way to get rich off market trades is by manipulating it or various forms of what amounts to insider trading and you are only in a position to do that as an upper manager of a listed company.

Most investment funds and advisors underperform the market and are literally no better at picking winners than chimpanzees. Just invest spare income in a FTSE tracker and come back in 50 years' time.
Original post by cleverasvoltaire
I'd strongly recommend fantasy shares at first, that's what I did. Then read the WSJ and look out for AGMs and expanding industries and other news concerning business.


You will always be behind the market who have better and faster information, unless I suppose it's a totally new industry without any specialists trading in it, but they don't come along often. If you are doing better it's dumb luck. Really, think about it, how could it be any other way?
Reply 14
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Quady
20
Original post by scrotgrot
You will always be behind the market who have better and faster information, unless I suppose it's a totally new industry without any specialists trading in it, but they don't come along often. If you are doing better it's dumb luck. Really, think about it, how could it be any other way?


Information is one thing.
Analysis is another.
You can take a view which is different to the market.
It's not a mugs game as such however anybody expecting even 20% returns year on year is stupid. A realistic aim is simply to outperform the FTSE as a whole however you need to prepared to take risk and accept that not every investment will pay off.

OP, you also need to know how long you want to wait for returns. Do you want to trade daily or are you happy to wait months or years.
How much do you plan to trade in shares?

Anything below a couple of thousand is a waste of time.

Its easy to lose your shirt big time.

The best way to make money from shares is to buy low,sell high,,simples.

My advice,, dont bother..
Original post by scrotgrot
It's a total mug's game especially if you are "dabbling".

Traders are not rich because of the market but because of commissions on huge amounts of other people's/institutions' money.

Only way to get rich off market trades is by manipulating it or various forms of what amounts to insider trading and you are only in a position to do that as an upper manager of a listed company.

Most investment funds and advisors underperform the market and are literally no better at picking winners than chimpanzees. Just invest spare income in a FTSE tracker and come back in 50 years' time.


That sounds depressing to wait 50 years.
Reply 18
Avatar for Quady
Quady
20
Original post by Kutie Karen
That sounds depressing to wait 50 years.


Gamble then.

tbh 20 years should be enough, but 50 demos the point better.
Original post by scrotgrot
It's a total mug's game especially if you are "dabbling".

Traders are not rich because of the market but because of commissions on huge amounts of other people's/institutions' money.

Only way to get rich off market trades is by manipulating it or various forms of what amounts to insider trading and you are only in a position to do that as an upper manager of a listed company.

Most investment funds and advisors underperform the market and are literally no better at picking winners than chimpanzees. Just invest spare income in a FTSE tracker and come back in 50 years' time.

What absolute tosh, it is perfectly plausable to make money on the exchanges without being a trader. Not to mention i've yet to hear of any individual with the funds to manipulate markets, banks like Saloman and their employee Kreiger were very good at it albeit he was betting with amounts that outstripped the entire supply thanks to various financial gizmos. What you described simply sounds like, as you said, insider trading or stock manipulation if you're the manager both of which will get your money seized you arrested and barred from the industry.

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