Beginning to Invest - All questions go here please

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118733476#Comment_118733476

Duplicate post

TalleyRand83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118733065#Comment_118733065

But I have unavoidable CGT gains upcoming (property related) so surely it isn't the hard loss overall, or am I missing something?

CGT is 33%, no changing that, obviously would rather profits and no losses but might as well take a realized loss on stocks that can offset CGT liability

Flex

Perhaps not necessarily a 'beginning to invest' question, but read a thread earlier about a person looking to split €2000 among ten stocks, which is where this curiosity stems from..

What is the minimum € position that you would consider worthwhile buying in a company? I know there are highly speculative plays, very long shots with high risk and so on, but typically if you wanted to buy into a company for a buy and hold, what is the minimum you would consider worthwhile; €500, €1000, €5,000, etc., and why?

Thanks

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118760853#Comment_118760853

With a lot of brokers (Degiro etc) you have to buy a full share, so for something like Shopify that's about €500 (Google etc over €2000).

For me, it's evolved through the years, I started with about €50 per company to learn the ropes, then about €300 when I was feeling more comfortable, now it's about €1000 at a go when I start investing in a company, though some of my speculative losers have come right down from there.

I don't think there's a minimum. Whatever you're comfortable with

Taylor365

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118744621#Comment_118744621

What situation would you be in if you didn't lose any money, but had to pay the CGT without any offset?

The same position.

Layne

Can anybody remind me how long after selling fully out of a position (for a small profit) can you buy back in again??

Marymoore

Hey guys, a clueless investor here. looking to invest to fight inflation but want a safe investment. was looking at the s&P 500, but so confused when i see it on degiro. can anyone tell me the difference between vanguard and ishares? which is better? and whats the difference between EAM/TDG/LSE/XET... again which is best? i thought it would be a straightforward put it on s&p 500 but so many options...

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118878691#Comment_118878691

iShares/Vanguard are just different companies, it's like saving with AIB or BOI.

The EAM etc are the stock exchange that your tracker is listed on (EAM being Amsterdam so the cheapest Eurozone one for you)

Search for IE00B3XXRP09 and you'll find it - Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD

Marymoore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118879442#Comment_118879442

thank you SOOO much Shedite. I literally had no idea :)

Umaro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118761081#Comment_118761081

Worth noting that Google have a 20:1 stock split coming up in July so folks will be able to buy a Google share for around €130 which will be nice for smaller investors trying to slowly build their portfolio.

Layne

Can anybody advise me is there period of time after selling a full position in a stock before you are allowed to buy back in again?? Did I imagine seeing something about it or does it actually exist??

Tried searching online but to no avail. Any info greatly appreciated.

timetogo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118896531#Comment_118896531

If you sell a stock to realise a loss. You can only use the loss if you don't buy the stock back within 4 weeks.

Selling or disposing of shares (revenue.ie)

You can still buy them back within the 4 weeks, that rule is just for realising the loss. That might be what you're thinking of.

Other than that. If you sell all of your stocks now, you can buy them back straight away as far as I'm aware.

In the US they have the pattern day trading rule. So might be applicable if you use a US broker (you can check that yourself, I'm not sure). It applies if you make 4 or more day trades within 5 working days.

Pattern Day Trader (PDT) Definition (investopedia.com)

Layne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118897061#Comment_118897061

Many thanks for that timetogo1.

Sold out of a stock for a profit and was kicking myself that I sold too early. I had convinced myself that I was precluded from buying back in for a few weeks but your post clarifies the situation now. Much appreciated.

Layne

Have been looking into Vanguard S&P 500 ETFs.

VUSA seems to be the most popular but I have been looking at the VUAA as it is dividend accumulating and the one domiciled in Italy is traded in Euros so no FX fees.

My first question is can Irish residents invest in the Italian domiciled VUAA??

Secondly, when I look how VUSA and VUAA are doing on Trading 212 they differ eventhough they are invested in the same 500 stocks e.g. VUSA has increased by just over 13% in the past year whereas the VUAA has gone up by almost 19% in the same period. Probably a very simple explanation but any wisdom would be welcome.

kave2

Hi all, I'm looking into investing but have no experience other then crypto. I have done some googling, found the likes of Etoro, Degiro etc.

What is the best/safest platform to use? Thanks a lot.

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118988967#Comment_118988967

Degiro/Interactive Brokers are the two that most posters seem to use

massdebater

I use Interactive Brokers and it's great, although it can be confusing if you're just starting out. Trading212 is much more user friendly and should have everything you need, they also let you create your own "pie" which is good for creating your own basket of stocks that you can invest in regularly.

Layne

Quick question.

Among the many metrics to be considered when investing in a stock what importance do you put on PE ratios??

Also am I right in saying that it is a plus to have the forward PE ratio lower that the current PE ratio i.e. it implies that future earnings will surpass current earnings thus an acceleration in growth??

Would be interested to hear what people think.

dil87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119050844#Comment_119050844

Personally, and I'm not alone, PE ratios have little importance than many realise. High growth names tend to have higher PE ratios and they continue to go much higher (in a bull), rate of earnings increase is much more valuable to look at. Just because a company has a low PE does not automatically make it an attractive buy, that stock can go lower and so will its PE, at what point does it stop becoming attractive and start looking like a dud? Many big leaders in the past, including Microsoft, Google and Cisco, had high multiples of PE. If you're new and want to learn more I highly recommend William O'Neil's book, the 'value' 'Buffet' guys will disagree but that's why most holders are down 60%+ so far this year.

Esho

Noob question on Degiro- do you get the share certificates and get paid dividends on your investment?

Or is it just for spread betting?

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119509110#Comment_119509110

Yes to dividends, no to share certs (can't imagine any online stockbrokers issue physical certs)

Darth Putin

Seems on Degiro once you submit the w8 your is stock dividends are taxes at 15% (they take that out)

however dividends are taxed in Ireland under income tax right? So that 40-50%

does one then get double taxed?

cgordy

Hi guys, I'm just starting off trading and made an account on trading 212. Have a few questions:

• Is this a good app to use here to buy and hold fractional shares? We don't have the ISA account option I believe.
• Is it profit under 2000 is tax free? Is there any type of account that has a higher threshold?
• If I decide I want to move to another platform can I transfer my portfolio without having to sell up and reinvest? What kind of fees would be expected for this?
• If there is another platform you recommend more what is it and why?
• My partner and I are saving for a mortgage deposit should I halt this altogether till afterwards or invest here and there when I can afford?

Benihunter

Hi all, I'm interested in investing, however I'm a complete newbie with 0 experience and I'd like some advise on where to start if anyone could please assist.

My circumstances are, I'm mid 30s, I have no debt, a decent, secure job which pays roughly €60k per annum and my bank balance has currently swelled to over €60k (most of this in the last 4 years following covid, which I'd imagine is quite common).

Now I realise that any substantial sum of money in a current account is useless as inflation eats away at it by the day but I'm also a conservative spender who likes to keep things low risk so I'm hesitant to make a move.

My goal is to match or modestly beat inflation over a long period of time, I'm not interested in high risk investments with promises of riches, if I was I'd take advice from Jordan Belfort or Bernie Madoff.

Having done some reading on the topic and watched Youtube videos etc, I like the idea of long term buy and hold investing focusing on blue chip stocks and maybe an EFT that tracks the S&P500.

To cut the the point, my main questions are:

1. What is the best trading platform for this type of investing? (ie the most options with reasonable fees and good security)

2. What assurances do I have if the stockbroker goes bust?

3. Are blue chip stocks and EFTs worth it given the tax implications in Ireland?

4. Are there any hidden pitfalls or issues I should be aware of (I am aware of the farcical deemed disposed tax rule for example)

5. I think it would be a good idea for me to take a part time course on investing/money markets. Is there any good ones people could recommend?

6. Are there any good book recommendations on the topic?

7. Finally, while I like the idea of stocks and EFTs, I am open to suggestion if there are any other good ideas which are more favourable considering Ireland's penal tax laws?

Thanks in advance for reading my message and I'd appreciate any advice or steer in the right direction.

AlmightyCushion

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123326640#Comment_123326640

The first thing you should do is start maxing out your pension contributions. You are in your 30s so you can contribute 20% of your incoming to your pension on top of whatever you employer contributes. I know pensions are a boring as fúck answer but it will generally get you a much better return than investing outside of a pension. If you contribute 1000 euro to your pension it only costs you 600 euro. There is no other investment that will guarantee you an immediate return like that. All gains are tax free, no deemed disposal, no tax on dividends. If you move from one fund to another in your pension you don't pay any capital gains on any profits.

Do you have a mortgage? If so, the next best thing to do is jump throw it at the mortgage, that's a guaranteed return of whatever rate you are paying on your mortgage. Beating that after tax with an investment might be hard. If you don't have a mortgage then is there a change you buy in the next few years? If so, then investing might not be a good idea.

For now at least stick 50k in Trade Republic until you have a better idea of what to do with it, they will give you 2.5% interest on it

Benihunter

Thanks very much for the reply.

Look I'm not in a bad position, I have a good pension through my work which I pay into and I don't have a mortgage so I do consider myself quite lucky at the minute.

Thanks for the recommendation of Trade Republic, I'll certainly do my homework on them, 2.5% is better than stagnantion. Also I hear Bunq are offering decent savings accounts, does anybody have any experiencd with them.

JVince

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123328259#Comment_123328259

Bunq are a bank - decent platform, good security and well capitalised.

As a newbie and my guess risk adverse, simply choose a managed fund or buy Berkshire - https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/BRK-B/

Its a well diversified fund that trades on the NYSE

Even including the Armageddon of the past few days it has grown 25% in 12 months.

Woodcutting

For someone on disability allowance who has 3k to invest what would be best?. Will it affect his welfare ?

CPTM

This is going to sound like a silly question but if I want to start investing in SandP regularly do I need to spend 500 dollars at a time? I see on Degiro that SandP Global Inc is at 438.18 this morning. So minimum investment is that right?

So if someone wants to invest 300 per month, they have to wait until 600 is saved before buying a share and then save again? Or is there an approach I'm missing..

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123336597#Comment_123336597

That's a financial services company, not the S&P market.

Closest to buying the S&P on Degiro is VUAA.L