New to shares go easy - Sharewatch once off buy?

Hoops1888

I'm thinking about investing E30,000. I dont want to open an account with a company because I just want to buy the shares them and leave them there for a good few years.

I know sharewatch charges E50 for buying up to E15,000 in shares has anyone here ever done this?

Also say if I wanted to invest E7,500 in four company's (E30,000) will it still only cost E100 extra to buy the shares?

Is a cert important?

A Random Walk

I don't know about Sharewatch specifically, but for most brokers you pay a commission per share - so I imagine 4 shares will cost you 200 in commission.

I hope you're aware that buying only 4 shares is leaving you exposed to one share doing badly? To get more diversification (spread your risk) you might want to consider buying more shares (with more cost of course) or else investing in an ETF or fund of some description.

Certs are the most secure way of holding shares, but are a pain in the ass to manage and store. You won't be able to get certs for many shares. If you're planning on buying and holding for several years, certs may be a good option.

There are usually two other options available for holding shares - Crest account and Nominee account. Most Irish stockbrokers would offer Nominee accounts - the risk here is that your assets are used in the event of a bankruptcy (e.g. Morrogh stockbrokers). To avoid this, nominee accounts are usually held by a stand alone company, which eliminates most but not all risk.