Beginning to invest

John_1984

Hi guys,

I want to invest part of my savings and am trying to figure out the best way to do it. I'll be investing about €5k in a small number of companies. My holding periods will likely be 2/3 months - 1 year. I'm looking for the cheapest way to do it with a reliable company.

I've previously traded with IG index but traded over much smaller time frames. They had a decent charting package a couple of years ago but what they have now isn't great. I think you can get a better charting package you pay extra for but the level of trading I would be doing wouldn't justify the price.

Should I look at other spreadbetting firms or go with a broker? Having a decent charting package is important.

Any help on this from anyone knowledgeable would be appreciated. Thanks.

gordongekko

John_1984 wrote: »

Hi guys,

I want to invest part of my savings and am trying to figure out the best way to do it. I'll be investing about €5k in a small number of companies. My holding periods will likely be 2/3 months - 1 year. I'm looking for the cheapest way to do it with a reliable company.

I've previously traded with IG index but traded over much smaller time frames. They had a decent charting package a couple of years ago but what they have now isn't great. I think you can get a better charting package you pay extra for but the level of trading I would be doing wouldn't justify the price.

Should I look at other spreadbetting firms or go with a broker? Having a decent charting package is important.

Any help on this from anyone knowledgeable would be appreciated. Thanks.

costs are going to wipe out your profit margin. Stick with the spread betting firms if your trading often and with a small amount would be my opinion on the matter.

why are you looking at such a short time frame?

betonit

gordongekko wrote: »

Stick with the spread betting firms

Hi have you any views on shelbournemarkets. They are an Irish spreadbetting firm formerly marketpreads. I have asked here before on spreadbetting firms but got no response.Just wondering is there any interest in spreadbetting here or does anyone use shelbournemarkets

gordongekko

betonit wrote: »

Hi have you any views on shelbournemarkets. They are an Irish spreadbetting firm formerly marketpreads. I have asked here before on spreadbetting firms but got no response.Just wondering is there any interest in spreadbetting here or does anyone use shelbournemarkets

I was speaking to a dealer there only last week. They seem to be over their troubles and I would expect their standards are high. Give them a call and they will set up a demo account for you.

John_1984

gordongekko wrote: »

costs are going to wipe out your profit margin. Stick with the spread betting firms if your trading often and with a small amount would be my opinion on the matter.

why are you looking at such a short time frame?

Well, lets say for example I was going to invest €1k in Bank of Ireland and would hold it for one year. Would it be cheaper to do this with a spreadbetting firm or with a broker.

gordongekko

John_1984 wrote: »

Well, lets say for example I was going to invest €1k in Bank of Ireland and would hold it for one year. Would it be cheaper to do this with a spreadbetting firm or with a broker.

that's a little difficult to do. Its like comparing apples and oranges. In a pure cost basis it will probably be cheaper with spreadbetting firm but you need to be aware of margin calls, the spread what rate they are charging for roll overs and how much you are using leverage.

If you were to go to a bank you would probably face something like the following.

€26 maintenance charge
€32 min purchase charge
€10 stamp duty
€32 min sale charge

John_1984

Really, so I'd be looking at over 10% in various fees which would wipe out any reasonable expected return over the course of a year.

gordongekko

John_1984 wrote: »

Really, so I'd be looking at over 10% in various fees which would wipe out any reasonable expected return over the course of a year.

there are cheaper options available with online brokers. Mind yourself with the spreadbetting you can lose more than your initial investment.

Pennystockwhiz

Spread-betting is a mugs game

John_1984

Pennystockwhiz wrote: »

Spread-betting is a mugs game

Can you explain why? I always hear people say this and I don't see how it differs from going through a broker in terms of risk/reward. You can lose more than what you have in your account but that's only if you don't use any stop losses.

arrowloopboy

Pennystockwhiz wrote: »

Spread-betting is a mugs game

Some folk would say the same about penny stocks pennystockwhizz:eek:,did ya get burnt:D:D:D ?

arrowloopboy

John_1984 wrote: »

Can you explain why? I always hear people say this and I don't see how it differs from going through a broker in terms of risk/reward. You can lose more than what you have in your account but that's only if you don't use any stop losses.

He can't ...... ,you can't lose more than the amount you set a guaranteed s/l at.Alot of guys use spread betting to basically gamble on random fx pairs or crude or other random brain farts.
I solely trade via spred betting,usually taking 6/9 month positions on stocks and annuals on indices.It works great for me:D.

betonit

arrowloopboy wrote: »

He can't ...... ,you can't lose more than the amount you set a guaranteed s/l at.Alot of guys use spread betting to basically gamble on random fx pairs or crude or other random brain farts.
I solely trade via spred betting,usually taking 6/9 month positions on stocks and annuals on indices.It works great for me:D.

would you ever day trade something like an fx pair on big announcement /event because of the volatility. Especially when u can set a s/l