Online Stock Broker recommendations/experiences

[D O G]

Ok, I am about to dip my toe in the stock market.

I am NOT going to be doing a lot of trading, I intend to hold the selected stock for the medium term, I don't have the time or inclination to spend my time monitoring obscure startups in Lahore, so those products intended for the gamblers out there are not for me.

We are also not talking big amounts of money here - put it this way, you would struggle to buy a new bike with my investment fund, unless it was a Chinese jobby.

What I do want is reliability, security, low charges and ease of use. Part of me thinks to just pick the one with the lowest £/trade and be done with it, but it hurts not to ask the BCF massive for their collective experience.

So, please share!

[Gunhawk]

If you are only going to invest a couple of hundred then I would forget about it as the transaction charges will probably be more than you will make.

I would only revisit the stock market if I had thousands to invest, otherwise its not worth it... In my opinion and experience!
____________________
Current: Honda VFR800 VTEC
Previous: Honda CBF125, Honda XL650 Transalp, Honda CBR600f3
CBT: 19/5/12 > Theory: 06/08/12 > MOD1: 29/08/12 > MOD2: 16/10/12

[Tungtvann]

Download plus500, have a play.

[fatpies]

Doesn't this kinda defeat the point of investing?

If you're not going to watch it carefully then its not really investing is it?

If you've only got a small amount it makes it even worse. As the transaction charges will wipe out even massive gains.

If you're a small player, why not trade currency then? My dad made a killing when it was $2.03 US to £1. He bought stacks and stacks of dollars. Then 2008/9 happened and it went down to $1.34.

My personal prediction is that the BoE's new guv will print money like crazy, going for GDP targetting.

Sterling will go below Euro Parity. And The $1.25 against the US$, maybe lower.

Its HIGHLY dangerous of course, as the US is printing money like crazy too.
____________________
"It's easy to attack and destroy an act of creation. It's a lot more difficult to perform one"

[D O G]

I am not a fool, I absolutely understand the risks, the likely returns and the associated responsibility.

All I'm after is to hear the experiences of those who have actually used any of the broker websites, so I may learn from someone else's mistakes, rather than make them myself!

[D O G]

So my research this morning has led me to self select ISA's - are they as good as they look? Looks like a perfect solution for me at the moment.

[hellkat]

Totally understand what you are looking for, as I am looking for similar.

Got a (very) small amount to invest (>5k / <10k) and I'm still sitting on it in a non-earning account because I am scared of where to put it, of knowing nothing, of having it tied up if I need it for emergencies, and of losing my "safety net" again.

I would also be interested to know of simple and easily understood methods of investment. I would be happy to split it into two (or three) and spread the risk, but would like to be able to mostly "manage" it myself.

So I shall follow this thread with interest (pardon pun).
____________________
Not nearly as interesting in real life.

[D O G]

You are pretty much in the same boat as me then (tho a bit richer ).

Read this from moneysavingexpert about ISA's linky.

In essence you can pay in up to £11k to a stocks and shares ISA, and with self select ISAs you can decide what shares or funds that money is invested in, and change that mix as much as you like (tho transaction fees apply).

Looks as tho you can also withdraw some or all of the funds from a stocks and shares ISA at any point without losing the tax benefit.

HOWEVER I have only really started looking at this over the past 2 hours or so, no doubt I've probably missed something!!!

[Polarbear]

[multijoy]

Unit trusts are worth a go for that sort of investment- you buy a share in the fund, and they do the dealing on the back of it.

I made a bit of cash out of Edinburgh Dragon Trust a couple of years ago, but had to chop it all in to pay the tax man (but that's another story!)

It's not sexy and exciting, but might be more sensible than individual share dealing.
____________________
'11 CBF1000A, '99 C90, '98 CB500
silky666: He rode amazingly well considering his bike is the weight of a small van and had slicks on.

[D O G]

[mjn51]

have a look at selftrade.co.uk

[Derivative]

The cheapest broker for single share deals last I checked was £6 in/out.

Add on stamp duty at 0.5%.

On a £1000 deal that's 1.7% gone on the day you buy the share.
On a £500 deal that's 2.9%.

Realistically you should be diversifying. Blue chip shares are safer - the 'r' is important.

BP fell by 50% in a month on Deepwater Horizon. They're still down more than 30% from the peak after three years.

Funds are much better for small amounts IMO. Both for diversification reasons and because the fees are lower.

Tracker funds essentially mean you're buying an index (plus receiving the dividends). You won't beat the market, but you won't lose against it either.

I wouldn't put too much effort into studying individual stocks. The big players know more than you do.

[Lord Percy]

No idea how it works, but in Australia you must may into a pension fund when you're working (they call it a superannuation account). So when I was there, I had to pay contributions to this. I got to choose what sort of account I had, I chose the 'standard' one. It wasn't just a pension because they also invested it somehow as well. It was classed as low risk.

I've been back in the UK for a while now. I only worked in Oz for about 7 months, and in total paid about $1000 into the fund. Now that I'm back home, I can withdraw the funds from that and have the money given back to me. When I got a letter from them to explain the process, it said my balance was around $2000. So in 7 months this 'investment' had a 100% turnaround! No idea if they'll take a load of commission or whatever, or maybe they won't pay me anything other than the original $1000 I put in, but either way, it's quite an increase.

Dunno where I'm going with this. Just though I'd share it. It's just interesting because the company were primarily concerned with pensions, I chose the lowest risk account, yet they still managed to double the balance. I dunno if it's to do with the vast wealth of Australia, of maybe they were just very good at what they did.

[Derivative]

[Lord Percy]

[Pigeon]

I have used:
Selftrade
The Share Centre
Hargreave and Lansdown
IG Index

Selftrade and TSC have the most comprehensive platforms and data research options.

I started to "invest" in 2007. I used a combination of about 20 criteria that a company must pass to invest in. Low gearing, minimum of £20m Market Cap, no CEO or CIO or CFO departures, no exec option sells, no profit warnings, good sector performance etc etc
I used to work at a finance firm who bought Gilts and funds.
So into the mix I added some spreadsheet forumla to track these possibles and target entry and exit prices.

It started well. I had a bio-fuels firm that doubled in value in a month. An oil exploration company quadrupled over 9mths, same for a 3d printing firm. But the rest went either bankrupt, boards issued positive trading statements on Friday and announced bankruptcy on Monday. Some boards announced profits warnings out of nowhere, collapsed the company SP and bought the company out themselves at a fraction of the price.
Then the crash happened.

I started with £12k, after 6 mths it was £15k. After 18mths it was £5k.

In 2008 I switched to IG Index and used leverage to gamble on some key FTSE100 stocks, but predominantly Index Futures. Holding positions for no more than 15 days, but the majority were day trades based purely on maths. £5k became £8k by Spring 2009.

But the "excitement" and time commitment meant I stopped. I occasionally dive into Vodafone Futures, but instead of 350 trades a year I now do about 3.
Sold everything and bought a pedal bike. Best thing I did in years.
Although ironically, the markets have (pretty much) gone up ever since. Engorged on a rich diet of free money and currency devaluation.

Sorry, too much waffle there. In the end you will either sink or swim.
But be aware that all boats rise when the tide comes in, and all fall again when it goes out. Trouble is, unless your a natural, it's not easy to know at what point the market is at. My guess, is it's nearer the end of the bull cycle than the beginning.

Avoid small-cap shares if your looking at an ISA. Unless you really are sure of a company, it's suicide. Don't touch AIM with a barge pole. It's the wild west. Stick to FTSE-350

Don't bother if you don't have £3k min. Only do 3 trades, don't spread yourself too thin.

Ahh bollox. You'll get told 1,000 things with everyone bringing their own prejudice's and experiences to the table. In the end, you can only do what you think is best.

Good luck fella. It's a casino full of sharks out there and the game is stacked in favour of the house. The house, as ever, never loses.

[daemonoid]

[Joncrete Cungle]

For the amounts the OP is wanting to play with, I would forget the stock market. Buy some gold / silver coins or bars, discreetly hide them somewhere safe.

[Tungtvann]

[D O G]

[_Will_]

Realistically for that sort of money you may be best sticking them in premium bonds, like playing the lottery every month for free - with slightly better odds.

As suggested plus500 is a good start if you're not looking into serious trading, although its very much a gamble and not a secure way to invest.

Have you considered loan sharking?

Outside suggestion, buy a garage and rent it out - if you keep a beady eye open something may come up in your budget even at a conservative £30 p/m its a decent return.
____________________
Past -Honda qr50 | 2004 Peugeot Tkr s 50| | 1996 Yamaha XJ600s Diversion|

[fatpies]

[hellkat]

[fatpies]