Stocks and Shares

So the cryptocurrencies thread got me thinking, we have never really had a thread on here in Stocks and Shares.

I have been interested in this market for a little while now, and have a decent wedge locked down into various funds spread throughout the FTSE 100, FTSE 250 and some emerging markets. However I recently started looking at individual shares, and doing a fair bit of research on them.

A few years ago, UBISOFT (yes, the video game company) lost 66% of their company value, with their share price plummeting to 9 euros a share. At the time my dad and I brought a few of those, but sold when they reached 15 euros a share. A reasonable little profit. With the benefit of hindsight, we really should have held onto them as they are now valued at nearly 60 euros a share.

My current interests are mainly in mining companies, I have been watching these for a while and waiting for some news from each company.

- SIRIUS MINERALS
This is very much a long-term investment. Sirius is a UK company sitting in the FTSE 250. Sirius basically makes fertiliser using a mineral called Polyhalite. Fortunately for them they have the sole rights to the worlds current largest known deposit of Polyhalite, located of all places in Yorkshire. The mine is currently still in the construction phase, however once completed they reckon on an annual revenue of nearly £1 billion. I have bought shares at £0.29 and would aim to sell when these reach £0.60. A majority of large broking houses believe these shares should reach this value within 12 months. Alternatively I may decide to keep these shares going forwards, and potentially increase my holding after all with an increasing number of people on the planet and a requirement for ever more effective fertilisers Sirius could very much be a company to keep an eye on.

- PETRA DIAMONDS
Now this is my current mid-term investment. As their name suggests they are a diamond mining company based out of Jersey. They currently have eight mines in Tanzania and South Africa, whilst they are also involved in an exploration project in Botswana. Now Petra recently suffered a bit of a tumble on the market when it was revealed that they might have breached its debt covenants. This news was further compounded by a shortfall in production. However the additional debt taken on by the company was necessary to allow it to further increase the size of its South African mining operations. Barclays recently stated they have no concerns, and Petra has announced that it is well on target to reach its production goals for 2018, mining over 5m carats in diamonds. A decent mid term investment, bought shares @£0.99.

- PREMIER AFRICAN MINERALS
The most interesting of the lot and also the most risky. It is also currently my smallest investment of the three. Premier are an African Company based in Togo, who are developing a portfolio of Metals and Mineral projects across Africa. Recently there was some talk of the company being bought, but the head honchos decided to hold onto it for the time being. They have recently discovered a massive underground depository of lithium. Of course Lithium batteries will be used more commonly in years to come, so I am just having a little play with this stock for the time being. If in three months the stock price has gone up, I might consider taking my money and running. These African companies do suffer from mismanagement, so long term investment is never ideal. Bought shares @ £0.60.

If anyone is interested I will try to keep this updated. Feel free to post any shares that you hold or are monitoring for the benefit of others.

 

I've always been intrigued by stocks and shares but have never actually found out how on earth you can buy them! Any links/tips/reading material?

 

I've been thinking about getting into this on the side. You can run a dummy account I believe as a test go as you build knowledge and confidence. I'm sure many others on here are better educated than I on the topic but I think it's best to get educated on a few key industries, volatility, likely drivers of share price movement and link back to technology, economic and world events to make your trading decisions.

That said I've worked for a FTSE 100 company for many years and it still puzzles me how a good statement can drive a price down and ***** results can bring for opposite. I guess it's buy on the rumour sell on the results.

 

I have my portfolio/pension managed by SJP.
I quite enjoy my conversations with my fund manager and have a reasonable grasp of my affairs,albeit that I always ask her what she would do with her funds and I copy that! When in Rome!
Interesting thread.

 

Stocks n shares are a very high risk but potentially high return investment. I would suggest people avoid unless using money that wouldn't affect their circumstances if they lost the lot. Do your research and theres money to be made, but you do need to put the time in.

 

I knew SJP was the actress in Sex and the City, but I didn't know she worked in the City too.

 

If you may need the money in the short term then don't invest in equities

If you will start panicking if your investment goes down then don't invest in equities

If you are happy to invest for the long term and would like a decent income that's a better return than cash in the bank then look for stocks with a high dividend yield (oil sector?)

Use an online site to buy and sell if you want to keep costs down and are happy to make your own decision

Use a stockbroker if you would like advice (and your investment is large enough)

Look to invest in a fund if you want your investment to be managed

Just a few thoughts...

 

If you're looking for a platform provider, Hargreaves Lansdown are a decent company if you're just starting out. Support and research is good but they are expensive on the charges front.
Youinvest from AJ Bell are probably the best price/performace for a moderately clued up investor.

 

I use Hargreaves Lansdown, and I have to say they have been absolutely faultless since I started using them last October. There are fees on stock, however if you are buying a decent amount to start with then it is not too dramatic, I believe most transaction fees for non-UK shares are 11.95, uk shares usually its about 20.00.

I initially started out by buying shares in a fund. The funds are managed by a fund manager who gives you monthly reports on what the stock is doing. I was quite lucky with Hargreaves Lansdown and hopped straight into a brand new select UK only shares income fund. All shares initially cost £1. It is now about 10 months in and I've already seen a 20% increase. This was quite a low risk fund, but I also use others that are perhaps slightly more risky, particularly the emerging markets funds.

The reports I received gradually got me more interested in what stocks and shares were out there. I have always liked technology shares, they are particularly volatile but if you want to turn a quick buck they are your best bet. I've always found mining companies quite an interesting proposition. The goods they deal in are so valuable, and if you can get in on the ground floor these present very interesting longer term investments.

 

I have had a stocks and shares ISA for just over a year with Hargreaves and Lansdown and can tell you it has been an excellent investment as long as you keep putting the money in that is!

 

I moved an ISA over to them this year. With the new woodford fund that came out this year. In the long term I expect it will do well, I only moved it over this tax year though so its only up 0.5% at the moment. Hopefully be around 2-3% by the end of the year which is much better than I could have gotten in a bank. Yes, there is an element of risk but I'm not looking to touch this money for 20+ years so it is no real concern.

 

Correct. If you look long term this should work out ok. I'd say I've had about a 5% return over about a year. Knocks the socks off any other bank/building society investment at the moment really.

If you're feeling a little more risky and think long term again, then VCT's could be worth a look. I'm not quite brave enough to put my money in one of these just yet, but HL do them as well as the ISA's.

 

She's very efficient when she's not having lunch and shopping!

 

I've been an H.L. client for 30 years, can't speak too highly of them, however when investing it is prudent to take a long term view!

 

Its all about SEIS now. Planned exit VCTs are OK but you will lose money on both, if you don't factor in your tax relief.

 

Not heard of SEIS before Meister. Care to explain some more?

 

Invest in cardboard boxes, half the country will be living in them after brexit.

 

Arthur Virgil Dangerous is asleep in one now,he loves them!

 

V. high risk but you get 50% tax relief. Mainly invests in media production. Invests in small startup companies, a fees of which fail, then you claim loss relief. The remsining compsnies generalkt perform well and return on gbd remaining investment. Needs to be held for 3 years.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/seed-enterprise-investment-scheme-background

 

Low interest rates are forcing up the price of stocks, to the point that they are pretty dangerously overpriced.

Whilst the date for an interest rate rise seems to be delayed further and further, I'll wait until the bubble to burst, and then lump on value companies with an undeniable competitive advantage.

Low interest rates give poorly performing companies wiggle room to keep on surviving inefficiently, and unproductively. This will not last indefinitely.

 

Most fund managers underperform the market post-fees (66% were below the S&P growth rate in the US last year pre-fees and 87% underperformed the market in the UK) and traditionally individuals underperform the fund managers. You are better off investing in a quintuplet of ETFs mimicing market indexes (stable,growth,dividend,foreign aggressive growth/emerging markets) in a distribution that suits your risk and taking advantage of compound interest (approx 7% historically in the west - take into account diminishing returns hence emerging markets are a good idea to include) over 20 or so years as these have very low fees and are easier to deal with for the individual as macroeconomic data is much more accessible.

If you're dabbling money you'd otherwise have burnt betting on football on individual companies then go for it.

 

You can also find indexes that reflect sector performance which is probably more wise for the latter if you just want to attempt to beat the domestic market.

 

Hmmm I think that it is a bit unfair to put all fund managers into the same pile there Carlos. Someone like Edward (I think) Woodward shows solid growth every year. I invest in funds more on the basis of the manager than the actual stock in the fund. Look at Woodward's CF Equity fund and you will see what I mean.

 

Yes their funds tend to equalize

 

Woodforde. I think. Personally with his 2 new funds I think he has spread his knowledge and interest too thin. Personally I'm looking at getting out shortly.

 

You mean Neil Woodford!!!

 

Of course it is quite unfair to lump together Fund Managers, but even Woodford has had his up and downs over the years.

It is quite a good idea to follow a Fund Manager based on his previous success, and SJP have tended to do that, choosing successful Fund Managers to oversea their funds. But they have had mixed success. It is a difficult choice, as different funds will place different criteria and limits on the Manager, compared with his other managed funds and this can make a Manager change from his previously successful methods.

But good Fund Managers usually also have higher costs to be taken into account. So index linked, or tracker funds are cheaper, mutual funds or ETF's. But they would, almost by definition, offer smoothed out returns, without the likelyhood of high growth or losses that can be won or lost with single company shares. But recent history has shown they tend to outperform the average managed investments, so they can't be criticised, can they.

I gathered that the OP was not looking for steady returns, but was looking for real growth with part of his portfolio that he was prepared to risk, to a degree.

I'm certainly not very knowledgable on single company shares. I personally find the necessary research too diverse and convoluted to spend (my available) small snippets of time on. But time is what is needed to make quick decisions based on a myriad of, sometimes, information seemingly unconnected with the Company itself. Many people make good money in this market but it isn't for me.

I prefer the currency exchange markets, which has proved quite successful for me. I endeavour to make a number of trades every month, in which I genuinely believe I have swung the odds in my favour from, perhaps 55/45 against ( taking into account the charges), to about 65/35 in favour. It works for me, but others see it as no better than gambling on the horses.

I think quite often think that general opinions on investments, both positive and negative, are often voiced on the back of headlined, anecdotal and exaggerated information, and a distinct lack of personal knowledge (me included).

Best of luck Optimistic!

 

He has the golden touch at present.

 

If I remember correctly, he was managing 3 of the SJP funds when I involved. I think he lost a bit of focus when he set up his own Find Management business, but it doesn't surprise me to hear is is back on form.

 

Pretty much bang on the mark zz. Of my portfolio I would say 95% is tied up in fairly safe long term investments. The majority are in medium risk funds, but I don't intend to touch these for at least 10 years. The 5% are the ones I have mentioned in the first post here.

I view Sirius minerals as a long term investment too, as the mine will not be making a profit for the next five years. Petra has the potential to shoot up within 6 months but I would be prepared to wait at least 18 months for the right price here too.

Premier is the biggest risk, but also considerably the lowest investment. I only sunk £500 into their stock. If I can sell this in a couple of months for a decent profit I will be happy. It could also flop further but I'm certainly not alone in thinking this.

 

Related: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/Q4TR628BIS will have all the macro data you will ever need without having to access a bloomberg terminal or subscribe to the economist intelligence unit

 

Or missile and ammunition companies! Things are hotting up down in Asia!


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