Interested in investing, opinions?

PrettyBoy

Hey guys, new to Investments & Markets and interested in making my first investment but not sure where I should be looking. Basically, I have €50K that I want to invest but no idea what to do with it given the state of the economy and my lack of experience/expertise.

Would really appreciate some advice from some of the regular posters here, anything that could help me get my foot in the door and what they would do with €50K in todays market.

Thanks

digitally-yours

wow throwing in 50k to start :eek:


What sort of return you are looking for ?

High risk ?
Low risk ?


if high risk i would start with 5k max and then see how i do for 3 months and then stack on top of I am doing well .

If its a low risk play then go for some bluechips/ strong balance sheet companies. but if you don't know about investing (in the current climate I would suggest stay on sidelines)

PrettyBoy

digitally-yours wrote: »

wow throwing in 50k to start :eek:


What sort of return you are looking for ?

High risk ?
Low risk ?


if high risk i would start with 5k max and then see how i do for 3 months and then stack on top of I am doing well .

If its a low risk play then go for some bluechips/ strong balance sheet companies. but if you don't know about investing (in the current climate I would suggest stay on sidelines)

Well, I have €50K set aside to invest in something. Some people have advised me to look into buying property as the market is upside down at the moment and house prices have never been this low. However, I've always had a mild interest in stocks/shares and it's something I'd like to learn more about and eventually invest myself. The €50K isn't burning a hole in my pocket or anything, just wanted to hear some opinions on what I should look at from the people that do know about investing.

Cavehill Red

Firstly I hope people don't make specific stock recommendations in this thread. Secondly I hope you're not inclined to invest money based on the words of anonymous people on the internet.

Having said that, I'll speak generically about some of the things you should consider.

1. Professional advice. With 50K to invest, a few quid spent on some time with an independent financial advisor mightn't be the worst idea at all. They can review your entire situation, what you're looking for and tailor an investment package for you and maybe get you a good deal too.

2. Opening up a dummy account and trading imaginary cash for a while to see how you go. You can virtually trade all sorts of shares, indices, commodities and currencies online with firms which also offer actual accounts. Only once you've got the hang of that and are regularly producing a profit with a regular strategy should you consider playing with real money.

3. Consider your personal situation and future situation. Are you likely to get married, have kids in the foreseeable? Any potential expenses coming down the track?

4. Consider your exposure. Presumably your income is in euro. So are your 50K of savings. Might you wish to hedge your savings in case of an adverse event in the euro? (These are, after all, difficult times for the single currency.) If so, you might wish to look at investments denominated in other currencies, be they Swiss Franc, Sterling, Dollar, Aussie dollar, gold, silver, etc.

5. Do your due diligence on any potential investment. If investing in a firm's stocks or shares, examine their annual report. Consider dividends and seek to establish if the firm is worth its estimated capitalisation. Scrutinise how it is managed and the quality of the management team. Look at its exposure to things like currency fluctuation, political unrest, creditor issues, etc.

6. Past performance is no indicator of future performance!

7. Don't touch Irish property. There are hundreds of thousands of empty properties in Ireland currently and the market is artificially propped up by stunts like NAMA presently. The fundamentals indicate it has a way yet to fall. In any case, are you prepared to take on the job of being a landlord? Do you have property management experience? If not, are you happy to see a chunk of your income taken (before tax and expenses like breakages, maintenance, etc) by a letting agent or management firm?

These are just some preliminary thoughts. Such is the volatility in global markets currently, I too would be advising people to stay on the sidelines unless they knew what they were doing, with the sole caveat that a small insurance plan to hedge against an adverse euro event might be adviseable.

digitally-yours

Cavehill Red wrote: »

Firstly I hope people don't make specific stock recommendations in this thread. Secondly I hope you're not inclined to invest money based on the words of anonymous people on the internet.

Having said that, I'll speak generically about some of the things you should consider.

1. Professional advice. With 50K to invest, a few quid spent on some time with an independent financial advisor mightn't be the worst idea at all. They can review your entire situation, what you're looking for and tailor an investment package for you and maybe get you a good deal too. (disagree with this as I would never put my money on the line without knowing what I am investing it most "advisers" have no clue they just advise )

2. Opening up a dummy account and trading imaginary cash for a while to see how you go. You can virtually trade all sorts of shares, indices, commodities and currencies online with firms which also offer actual accounts. Only once you've got the hang of that and are regularly producing a profit with a regular strategy should you consider playing with real money. (I would start with 1k real money. demo account is with no emotions its like trying to learn how to swim without being in water ...)

3. Consider your personal situation and future situation. Are you likely to get married, have kids in the foreseeable? Any potential expenses coming down the track? agreed

4. Consider your exposure. Presumably your income is in euro. So are your 50K of savings. Might you wish to hedge your savings in case of an adverse event in the euro? (These are, after all, difficult times for the single currency.) If so, you might wish to look at investments denominated in other currencies, be they Swiss Franc, Sterling, Dollar, Aussie dollar, gold, silver, etc. (see where the Value is )

5. Do your due diligence on any potential investment. If investing in a firm's stocks or shares, examine their annual report. Consider dividends and seek to establish if the firm is worth its estimated capitalisation. Scrutinise how it is managed and the quality of the management team. Look at its exposure to things like currency fluctuation, political unrest, creditor issues, etc. 100% agree

6. Past performance is no indicator of future performance! (Most investors who loose think it is )

7. Don't touch Irish property. There are hundreds of thousands of empty properties in Ireland currently and the market is artificially propped up by stunts like NAMA presently. The fundamentals indicate it has a way yet to fall. In any case, are you prepared to take on the job of being a landlord? Do you have property management experience? If not, are you happy to see a chunk of your income taken (before tax and expenses like breakages, maintenance, etc) by a letting agent or management firm? Very sensible

These are just some preliminary thoughts. Such is the volatility in global markets currently, I too would be advising people to stay on the sidelines unless they knew what they were doing, with the sole caveat that a small insurance plan to hedge against an adverse euro event might be adviseable.

my take on the above

Blisterman

My personal advice is:
A: Read up on investing. There's dozens of websites out there. Motley Fool and Investipedia have good articles for beginners.

B: Figure out what you want. How long are you investing for? Do you need to access your money easily in an emergency?

C: Don't bother with professional money managers or funds. Studies have shown that, when you account for their fees, the vast majority fail to beat the market.

Have realistic expectations. If most professionals can barely beat the market, you're probably not going to vastly exceed it!

E: Don't invest it all at once. I would invest maybe 2-3,000 a month. Reduces the risk of you investing at the top of the market.

Gandalph

Go out and buy a book & it will help you figure out the stocks you want to buy yourself. After I read Peter Lynch's "One up on wall street" I felt like I had more personnal knowledge of how to pick a stock. I obviously didnt become an expert over the 2 nights it took to read the book & it didnt tell me the stocks to pick but I felt it stopped me from diving head first into pointless stocks I had looked at before.

You dont always have to pick the stocks the average joe on the street gives you, you will even see some horrible recommendations in these forums.

All I'll say is dont invest on anything "everyone else is doing", and do a bit of research into the ones your looking at.

But in this market dont expect to make money too quickly.

strmin

Gandalph wrote: »

But in this market dont expect to make money too quickly.

On the contrary, you can expect to make money quickly, but loose even faster in this market. S&P 500 gained around 10% in October. How is that not quickly?

Gandalph

strmin wrote: »

On the contrary, you can expect to make money quickly, but loose even faster in this market. S&P 500 gained around 10% in October. How is that not quickly?

Since when is investing based on a 1 month? That was the S&P's best month since 74 or something & was a freakish one because of all this comotion around Greece, do you expect this to happen often?

Tech3

If low risk stick to blue chip income stocks.

nbrady

Hi All,

I have always had an interest in the stock markets but never traded so far. Recently I have decided to educate myself on "How to Trade" properly and then maybe begin to trade for real. I think I currently would only be able to afford about €5K to start with but could add to this over time. I want to build a sustainable long term investment portfolio and not just take adhoc chances (like alot of people that dabble).

Firstly I need to educate myself and that is where I think you all can help.

I want to put a detailed plan in place to get myself from my current "Beginners" status to an "Expert" level. I want to be able to track and gauge my progress too. When I reach a level that I can make a good informed decision on what stock to purchase then and only then I would like to begin investing. I dont mind putting in the work up front.

Could you suggest what you feel is the correct approach that I should take to do this? Step by Step, 1, 2, 3 etc.

e.g.

• Read relvent books to learn the basics. What books are reliable and worth while reading?
• Complete Courses, either online or on campus. These appear to be expensive and the value add is not clear to me so I dont know if this is worth while!
• Trading seminars. I think these may be honey traps to get your business and money!

I look forward to your input. There is alot of info out there on the web but it is difficult to know or trust that it is reliable. So because you appear to have experience and do not have any bias then I would trust your input more,

Thanks in Advance.

Soldie

nbrady wrote: »

Hi All,

I have always had an interest in the stock markets but never traded so far. Recently I have decided to educate myself on "How to Trade" properly and then maybe begin to trade for real. I think I currently would only be able to afford about €5K to start with but could add to this over time. I want to build a sustainable long term investment portfolio and not just take adhoc chances (like alot of people that dabble).

Firstly I need to educate myself and that is where I think you all can help.

I want to put a detailed plan in place to get myself from my current "Beginners" status to an "Expert" level. I want to be able to track and gauge my progress too. When I reach a level that I can make a good informed decision on what stock to purchase then and only then I would like to begin investing. I dont mind putting in the work up front.

Could you suggest what you feel is the correct approach that I should take to do this? Step by Step, 1, 2, 3 etc.

e.g.

• Read relvent books to learn the basics. What books are reliable and worth while reading?
• Complete Courses, either online or on campus. These appear to be expensive and the value add is not clear to me so I dont know if this is worth while!
• Trading seminars. I think these may be honey traps to get your business and money!

I look forward to your input. There is alot of info out there on the web but it is difficult to know or trust that it is reliable. So because you appear to have experience and do not have any bias then I would trust your input more,

Thanks in Advance.

I would recommend Peter Lynch's One Up on Wall Street and Beating the Street. These books were recommended to me by another boards.ie member some time ago and I've found them to be extremely helpful. One Up on Wall Street serves as a theory book and outlines Lynch's investment technique. Beating the Street, on the other hand, deals more with the application, and Lynch discusses his stock selections in it. I also think Benjamin Graham's The Intelligent Investor is a great book.

Above all I'd say that you're right when you say should educate yourself as much as possible before you dip your toe.