Trading the stockmarket (NO Referrals)

Ev0 · 12 Dec 2009 at 21:40

Nickg said:
any thoughts on long rangers such as;

African Eagle (AFE)
Sterling Energy (SEY)

?

Something about SEY is putting me off for now, can't quite put my finger on it.

Upside is other oilers in the region are making good finds (GKP for instance), however they have a hell of a lot more shares in issue which puts me off so pts wise the rises shouldn't be as big (obviously percentage wise they would/could be).

Long term could be a fun one though.

Bes · 13 Dec 2009 at 00:50

Did anyone here take a look at Gaming VC? (GVC) I've been in for a few years and think it is a fantastic play on the betting sector.

FlamBango · 13 Dec 2009 at 01:39

so what trading sites do people use? Just looking around some now, they all seem to charge around a tenner per trade which would be an awful lot if i was just mucking about with a couple hundred quids worth of shares.

Bes · 13 Dec 2009 at 01:45

Yep that's about right... Have a look at Halifax Sharebuilder.. It used to be very cheap. Not sure if it is still the case.

HungryHippos · 14 Dec 2009 at 23:04

Well I am currently into the following:

LLOY - 55.2p
RBS - 30p
BARC - 286p
BDEV - 113p
TW. - 44p

So mostly doing OK apart from TW. which is down a bit, however I am holding out for the reversal which will come sooner or later and I may try and trade up if I find a good price to sell at (even if it is below my buy in price)

silversurfer · 15 Dec 2009 at 10:02

As a portfolio thats overweight on banks and housing companies, both sectors will most likely move similarly

http://ftalphaville.ft.com/blog/2009/12/11/88481/the-dogs-of-the-ftse-100/

Skull · 18 Dec 2009 at 09:15

I'm looking into stock market investment and I was hoping you could answer a quick question. I'm not looking to day-trade, I'd just like to purchase 10 stocks I've selected all at once and hold them for a year. The amount I have to invest is small (£1,000) but since I'm only planning on buying and selling once a year I did not think I would be swallowed by commissions as I would if I was actively trading.

I've applied to selftrade.co.uk, but my concern is that I'm not sure what they mean with regards to commission "per trade." I have the sinking feeling that it means if I buy my £1,000 of stocks in ten companies all in one go, they will count that as 10 different trades and charge me £100. Then if i sell them in a year that will be another £100, meaning I'd have to beat the market just to break even... I can't find a definition of what constitutes a "trade" - is it per company or the whole thing at once?

Bes · 18 Dec 2009 at 10:40

Yes you are right... If you want to hold 10 stocks you pay 10x£12.50 (I think Selftrade charge).

If you want to sell, the same applies.

£1000 is not enough to stockpick with unless you identify just one you want IMO.

gord · 18 Dec 2009 at 10:46

Yep, per stock, which is why I only perform bigger trades. It was fine stockpicking with small amounts earlier in the year because of the undervaluation.

Simon · 18 Dec 2009 at 10:54

At least Urals have been relisted. I have a few hundred in them and they were delisted back in June

mcast123 · 18 Dec 2009 at 11:34

Skull said:
I'm looking into stock market investment and I was hoping you could answer a quick question. I'm not looking to day-trade, I'd just like to purchase 10 stocks I've selected all at once and hold them for a year. The amount I have to invest is small (£1,000) but since I'm only planning on buying and selling once a year I did not think I would be swallowed by commissions as I would if I was actively trading.

I've applied to selftrade.co.uk, but my concern is that I'm not sure what they mean with regards to commission "per trade." I have the sinking feeling that it means if I buy my £1,000 of stocks in ten companies all in one go, they will count that as 10 different trades and charge me £100. Then if i sell them in a year that will be another £100, meaning I'd have to beat the market just to break even... I can't find a definition of what constitutes a "trade" - is it per company or the whole thing at once?

A trade is any separate trading entity, so depending on your broker you're probably looking at:

buy - 10 x £10 + £1000x0.05 (stamp duty) = £150
sell - 10 x £10 = £100
bid/ask spread £10ish
total - £260

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see it would be a terrible way to invest £1000. A FTSE tracker fund would be a much better option. There are region and sector specific ones also, although my guess is you're going to randomly pick 10 uk listed stocks.

Skull · 18 Dec 2009 at 11:36

mcast123 said:
A trade is any separate trading entity, so depending on your broker you're probably looking at:

buy - 10 x £10 + £1000x0.05 (stamp duty) = £150
sell - 10 x £10 = £100
bid/ask spread £10ish
total - £260

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to see it would be a terrible way to invest £1000. A FTSE tracker fund would be a much better option. There are region and sector specific ones also, although my guess is you're going to randomly pick 10 uk listed stocks.

I will look into the tracker fund but no, they weren't randomly chosen.

Ev0 · 18 Dec 2009 at 12:59

Nice to see MNR just keeps going on and on

silversurfer · 18 Dec 2009 at 15:39

MNR does look nice, what gave you the clue to buy them? I have very little confidence in most small companies personally though they can be the best growth of all

iii charge no commission on preplanned investment which is ideal for tiny little purchases just remember they will charge for sales.
Share.com will do similar, except 4 times a day you choose to buy for 2.50 a go. Again if you want to cash in then it costs a more normal commission

Ev0 · 18 Dec 2009 at 21:22

The fundementals looked good and it just seemed undervalued at 14p.

SAM is also on the watchlist after a few comments I've read abotu them but not worth a shot yet I think.

MNR still have a way to go imho.

thepharcyde · 18 Dec 2009 at 21:32

mcast123 said:
A FTSE tracker fund would be a much better option. There are region and sector specific ones also, although my guess is you're going to randomly pick 10 uk listed stocks.

This

silversurfer · 27 Dec 2009 at 15:33

Some forthcoming worst case scenarios for consideration, happy near year!

Ev0 said:
The fundementals looked good and it just seemed undervalued at 14p.

SAM is also on the watchlist after a few comments I've read abotu them but not worth a shot yet I think.

MNR still have a way to go imho.

How about HOCHSCHILD MINING, hoc

Fuzz · 27 Dec 2009 at 16:10

Skull said:
I will look into the tracker fund but no, they weren't randomly chosen.

Utterly pointless to buy individual stocks with so little money.
As said you be better off looking at a fund of some sort depending on your risk and put the £1000 in there.

Fees as far as online trading go.. this should give you a rough idea.
https://uk.etrade.com/e/t/uk/page?nav=4&subnav=6&screen=1&language=en&country=uk

Skreed · 27 Dec 2009 at 16:51

Anyone ever played on www.virtualtrader.co.uk? If so can anyone tell me why it lists very few companies

silversurfer · 27 Dec 2009 at 17:51

Im thinking I might try and guess a few stocks on this site since it gives some quite useful info as well for any real holdings

http://www.stockchallenge.co.uk/