[Finance] Investing in stocks... for fun (and maybe some profit?)... tips?

[Mustafa II]

I've been playing around on trading212 for the last few months.

I am utterly clueless, I'm treating it as gambling, but to be fair somehow I'm up by about 10% (presumably because I invested at the right time, when the market was down because of Trump).

Anyone else doing this? Any SERIOUS investors got any tips?

My strategy has changed from investing in safe massive global companies (which was boring), to buying UK only companies that I know are decent and pay out dividends, but seem to be quite volatile in stock value.

 

[US Seagull]

Buy low, sell high.

 

[timbha]

Use stocks and shares as a medium/long term investment so you can sell when you want to, not when you need to. Live off your cash.

It’s not a game.

 

[Is it PotG?]

The value of shares can go down as well as up.

 

[PeterT]

Pharmaceutical companies are notoriously volatile, used to be a safe bet to buy when other stocks were falling but nowadays it’s all about the pipeline and what impact Trump will have on them - many factors at play including tariffs, pricing reimbursement, country of manufacture, vaccines etc.

Catch these at a low and they tend to bounce back again and give you a nice return, but buy them in mid-free fall and you are stuffed.

When I used to buy and sell shares I did really well on some of these, and really badly and then well again, and then badly again…. It taught me a good lesson, though I was probably up on the deal overall but it proved I was not knowledgeable enough to continue.

The best advice I can give is that it’s not a game, it’s real money you are gambling with and the last 10-20% of the profit is the hardest to get so pull out way before then!

 

[Templeton Peck]

I have a Cash ISA with them. Nice interface and seems to transfer in/out a lot quicker than advertised.

Tempted to try their S&S options, what is the interface like on that?

I have a few Investment ISA's with Scottish Friendly the first of which I set-up when I was 22 (Now 41) I pay in between £25 - £200 p/m, they mature every 5/10 years depending on the option you choose. They guarantee to pay out what you've paid in on maturity.... I tend to treat them as something to pay into and forget about. They tend to track slightly above the average AER so have been quite happy, but they have recently brought in a new fee structure which isn't great.

 

[schmunk]

This sort of thing?

 

[Moin]

All depends on your time horizon and your appetite for risk. If you're serious, and want to grow your savings for retirement, that's one thing. How many years out from retirement are you? If you're just gambling, remember that high reward comes with high risk. Warren Buffett said something like "People who want to get rich quick never get rich at all. It's better to get rich slowly." I've mangled the quote but you get the gist.

Hard to offer actual recommendations without knowing the answers to these questions about time and risk. But one important suggestion is that you look at funds and ETFs rather than individual companies. I've been investing for nearly 30 years and have all sorts of stuff. But to a new investor prepared to be patient I'd suggest looking at Vanguard funds which are low cost, especially their LifeStrategy funds which spread risk across sectors and geographies. A good all-purpose fund I've held profitably for years is Terry Smith's Fundsmith. He believes in investing in household staples and commodities that will always be in demand.

A really good book is Tim Hale's Smarter Investing which is aimed at people who are happy to be patient and invest in funds and trackers. He has tons of great advice on things like 'dollar cost averaging' and 'passive investing' (Google them).

There's a million other things I could say but an internet football forum isn't really the place to educate yourself on a topic like this. At a minimum, do a bit of reading and start ploughing through various Reddit groups perhaps. You'll get plenty of bad advice from nutters there eg gold and crypto fanatics but you should be able to spot the occasional nuggets too.

 

[North Carolina Supporter]

Several long term studies found that 5-8% of individual investors “beat the market” … so, unless you are either a) lucky or b) have inside information, then you should invest in a limited number of low cost ETFs. In other words, don’t attempt to pick the best tech stock- invest in QQQ which is a portfolio of the best performers. Same for financials, consumer staples, metals, etc. Pick 5 to 10 of the best ETFs and you will outperform day traders and stock pickers 95% of the time- over time

 

[dazzer6666]

Unless you have a vested interest in a company or the time and experience to do the research then you’re basically taking a speculative punt (unless you simply follow someone else’s research)……..I very rarely do so and stick to collectives, logic being a) the risk is spread and b) a professional investment manager should be a lot better at it than me.

 

[Anger]

Get out now, whilst you still have your shirt.

Isn’t trading212 the one with the adverts going on about ‘ready made pies’ (i.e. pie charts of how your investments are split)?

I must have seen that advert at least 300 times and not once did I fail to think…

 

[Justice]

I’ve been trading on and off for around 20 years it took me a long time to come up with a profitable strategy. I trade currencies and indices and since the stroke am looking to make this more or less my full time income. I’ve learnt it’s a waiting game for the right set up and strict money management has to be kept to.
Anyone selling how to become a super rich trader are lying to you, don’t fall for the bullshit they peddle. There are some good forums out there Forex factory is a good read with loads of tips etc.

 

[Bozza]

Warren Buffett who has done pretty well at this kind of thing always stresses that individual stocks are a long-term play if you want to succeed.

Chopping and changing all the time is gambling.

"The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient."​

​

"Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree long time ago."​

"Invest for the long haul. Don't get too greedy and don't get too scared."​

​

"You shouldn't buy stocks unless you expect, in my view, to hold them for a very extended period, and you are prepared financially and psychologically to hold them the same way you would hold a farm and never look at a quote — you don't need to pay attention to it."​

 

[Pevenseagull]

The more you trade the closer you get to using your bank roll


Edit


The more you trade the quicker you lose

 

[Pevenseagull]

Any decision by an individual is an utter punt.


Their decision to buy or sell is coming from a point of knowing nothing.


Most proffesionals are charlatans who, after charges for their sage like genius, underperform their respective inicies in the medium to long term.

 

[Mustafa II]

Any decision by an individual is an utter punt.


Their decision to buy or sell is coming from a point of knowing nothing.


Most proffesionals are charlatans who, after charges for their sage like genius, underperform their respective inicies in the medium to long term.

Aren't all our private pensions being managed by these people??

 

[TomandJerry]

Made a pretty penny from Rolls Royce when they were 60p a share.

 

[Pevenseagull]

Warren Buffett who has done pretty well at this kind of thing always stresses that individual stocks are a long-term play if you want to succeed.

Chopping and changing all the time is gambling.

"The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient."​

​

"Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree long time ago."​

"Invest for the long haul. Don't get too greedy and don't get too scared."​

​

"You shouldn't buy stocks unless you expect, in my view, to hold them for a very extended period, and you are prepared financially and psychologically to hold them the same way you would hold a farm and never look at a quote — you don't need to pay attention to it."​

Aren't all our private pensions being managed by these people??

Yes


And a lot of them are not as bright as we'd like to think they are.

 

[Pevenseagull]

Aren't all our private pensions being managed by these people??

A Canadian pension fund invested heavily in Thames Water.

 

[hart's shirt]

If you're feeling lonely, buy some shares.

It's good to have a bit of company.