Shares / investing

[White Line Fever]

Lately I've been tentatively been looking into buying shares.

I have no idea of where or how to get started?

How much money would people generally outlay ? $1000?

Do i need to set up a portfolio and who do I do this through?

Any tips would be appreciated.

[Trader]

If you trust the market to be efficient, you may as well pin the paper up and throw a dart.

In terms of how much, you wanna make it big enough that you can diversify your portfolio to the degree your after, without having the entry and exit costs eating away at your profits too much.

[AFLflyer]

Lately I've been tentatively been looking into buying shares.

I have no idea of where or how to get started?

How much money would people generally outlay ? $1000?

Do i need to set up a portfolio and who do I do this through?

Any tips would be appreciated.

WTF, i have been getting into this over the last year or so. Use an online account through commsec or maquarie and your away, its easy. They usually charge $35.00 each time you buy or sell. easy to set up. Start with what ever you can offord. I started with a few risky spec buys to get started and are trying to move n to more blue ship shares or listed investment companies (safer and long term options which pay dividends) You need to be in the game LONG term and cant expect to make a quick buck. read the paper or money magazine each day to get a few tips.
A great book which puts all investing ideas in simple terms is the book by the barefoot investor. This got me started, gets you thinking about the best things to do with your money, it starts from the ground up. have a look at his website.
what i do is try and put away money each month (as much as you can afford) and keep it in a high interest account and buy shares and invest in different ways. He calls it your mojo account. It pays to be smart with your cash and he teaches you how you can do this and reach your $ goals. So easy to piss all your cash away without even trying. Goods debts and bad debts are the best lesson to learn. I.e a new car is VERY much a bad debt, unless you can afford it and pay cash for it.

[AFLflyer]

any shares you get a tip on or wnat to find out more about. browse this forum, which i have learnt heaps from.
www.hotcopper.com.au
type in your share code and your away - i think you need to sign up etc, it's free

[AFLflyer]

Also, spread your cash around and don't put all your eggs in one basket!

[Squawk]

WLF - an easy way to start is to invest in a company that invests across the market. That way, you are effectively parking your money with a company that pays people to monitor the market and invest appropriately, and you don't have to do it yourself. Using this method, you probably want to hold your shares for a minimum of 5 years.

Also, another good option is to buy shares in companies with Dividend Reinvestment Plans. That way, instead of collecting a cash payment, you can choose to take extra shares without paying brokerage costs. It effectively compounds the size of your portfolio.

Two good and highly reputable companies that match the above criteria are Argo and Australian Investment Foundation Company. They pretty much outperform the average performance of the market as a whole, which is their goal. Interestingly, the boss at Argo pays himself a famously low wage when compared to his similar sharemarket compatriots. FWIW Argo was started in Adelaide and is a big big company nowadays in terms of market capitalisation. They generally pursue a safe investment strategy in blue chip companies.

My family has had shares in both companies for three generations now. No complaints whatsoever!

[AFLflyer]

WLF - an easy way to start is to invest in a company that invests across the market. That way, you are effectively parking your money with a company that pays people to monitor the market and invest appropriately, and you don't have to do it yourself. Using this method, you probably want to hold your shares for a minimum of 5 years.

Also, another good option is to buy shares in companies with Dividend Reinvestment Plans. That way, instead of collecting a cash payment, you can choose to take extra shares without paying brokerage costs. It effectively compounds the size of your portfolio.

Two good and highly reputable companies that match the above criteria are Argo and Australian Investment Foundation Company. They pretty much outperform the average performance of the market as a whole, which is their goal. Interestingly, the boss at Argo pays himself a famously low wage when compared to his similar sharemarket compatriots. FWIW Argo was started in Adelaide and is a big big company nowadays in terms of market capitalisation. They generally pursue a safe investment strategy in blue chip companies.

My family has had shares in both companies for three generations now. No complaints whatsoever!

correct squak, they are the LIC companies i mentioned earlier (I have Argo ARG also) MLT i think is another. ARG is currently aout 5.80 (a good time to enter) considering highs last year, i got in at 6.02

speccys WAY more risky and fun IMO!

[mighty_tiger_79]

BETFAIR

[FlyingHigh]

WLF - an easy way to start is to invest in a company that invests across the market. That way, you are effectively parking your money with a company that pays people to monitor the market and invest appropriately, and you don't have to do it yourself. Using this method, you probably want to hold your shares for a minimum of 5 years.

Also, another good option is to buy shares in companies with Dividend Reinvestment Plans. That way, instead of collecting a cash payment, you can choose to take extra shares without paying brokerage costs. It effectively compounds the size of your portfolio.

Two good and highly reputable companies that match the above criteria are Argo and Australian Investment Foundation Company. They pretty much outperform the average performance of the market as a whole, which is their goal. Interestingly, the boss at Argo pays himself a famously low wage when compared to his similar sharemarket compatriots. FWIW Argo was started in Adelaide and is a big big company nowadays in terms of market capitalisation. They generally pursue a safe investment strategy in blue chip companies.

My family has had shares in both companies for three generations now. No complaints whatsoever!

correct squak, they are the LIC companies i mentioned earlier (I have Argo ARG also) MLT i think is another. ARG is currently aout 5.80 (a good time to enter) considering highs last year, i got in at 6.02

speccys WAY more risky and fun IMO!

Better than the $7.75 I did

[Trader]

BETFAIR

Betfair shares or betfair account? lol

[mighty_tiger_79]

both

but preferably a betfair account to trade on sports and racing events

[Trader]

both

but preferably a betfair account to trade on sports and racing events

Do you do that? I trade the AFL a bit. We prolly run into each other a fair bit.

[Squawk]

ARG is currently about 5.80 (a good time to enter) considering highs last year, i got in at 6.02

speccys WAY more risky and fun IMO!

Better than the $7.75 I did

Depending on your volume and any brokerage costs, you could sell, take the loss as a tax break, and reinvest at the (currently) lower price?