Buying Shares...

[Makaveli]

I have been thinking about buying some shares as an investment for a little while now but after doing abit of research it doesnt seem to be as straight forward as I had hoped it would be... I want to purchase paper shares rather than online/electronic shares and it wont be a regular thing so I dont want to open a share account or anything. Any forum members experienced in buying shares?

[Richn83]

only the electronic variety, think if you want to buy paper shares and have full attorney over them (a lot of these electronic companies own the shares on your behalf) then you will probably need to find yourself a brooker, or your bank might be able to help you.  I have some paper shares in BT but these were purchased by my parents long before the internet really took off.

[bacillus]

I have found this place to be good in the past, http://www.h-l.co.uk/

Assuming you know what shares you want, your local bank should be able to deal on your behalf.

[Frodo-anni]

Never invest money in direct shares that you cant afford to loose. Couple of online places, selftrade, shareprice.co.uk, halifax share....

Have you ever made long term saving investments before?

Instead of direct shares other areas you may look at is Investment ISA, utilise your ISA allowance each tax year, ie £10.2k. These monies will go into pooled invesments, to reduce down the risk to an individual, reduces some of the costs involved with direct share dealing.

Just remember any asset back investment cannot be guarantee and dependant on how adventurous you are with fund choice then you can see you the value of your money flutuate.

[gti265]

i have a virgin tracker isa, which they invest for me i just pay a monthly amount and it follows the market, this can be good and bad, i brought last year whe n it was realy low, but as its climing i think still steadly i get more money, n way more than the intrest i would get in a bank, go onto virgin tracker isa's

[vRStu]

How about Premium Bonds??

[GTIjames]

How about Premium Bonds??

if your on about premium saving bonds then don't waste your time, ive had the full allocation you are allowed (30k) for a few years now and used to win the odd £50 to £250 a month quite regularly, but recently I have not won anything for months, I believe they have reduced the winnings pot and the £1m prizes have also dried up...  yeah your cash is safe but if you dont win then its just sat there earning you nothing

[vRStu]

I've always had reasonable returns from PB's.

They are a safe alternative with an opportunity wo win something big.

[gulfstream11]

I too had premium bonds,10k worth..Not a sausage... My wife had 500 shares in HBOS@ £10.80 a share..Thought that would be nice investment for some years.. Enjoyed watching the drop to 54p I can tell ya...

[chungE]

i have a virgin tracker isa, which they invest for me i just pay a monthly amount and it follows the market, this can be good and bad, i brought last year whe n it was realy low, but as its climing i think still steadly i get more money, n way more than the intrest i would get in a bank, go onto virgin tracker isa's

Iv got the same but with HBOS. Speak to someone about it in branch is probably best.

[Frodo-anni]

The biggest issue to take into consideration at the moment is the rate of interest being earnt and the high value of Inflation. It may be all well and good getting 3-4% on deposit account, but when you look at Real rates of returns, ie taking inflation into account, your money is going no where. Infact its being eroded all the time.

Cash as an asset is fine, for short term savings, household emergencies, (eg, always have 3-6 mths of monthly outgoings set aside), but longer term its crap.

Key is not all your eggs in one basket, diversification!

Any Questions pm me, i do it for a living.

[Makaveli]

Thanks for all the replies guys! I was looking at buying shares rather than investing in ISAs or savings accounts, I will see if my Bank provides the service and at what cost