if you are, what companies do you invest in? for instance, tescos, sainsburys etc. do you buy the shares, bonds etc yourself, or do you use a broker? am specifically interested in companies that accept low investments of about say £100. shares and that. am curious whether there is room for ordinary people to invest in the stock market. in case you wonder why am asking here, instead of going to a bank for example, i want views from ordinary people as opposed to views from someone who is trying to sell me something.
moderator - sorry - not exactly phd related. probably phd life related.

I have done a bit. Used an internet broker that allows me to pick a company and then invest as much as I like, though they add on a charge for doing it. There are a fair few out there, so you need to look for the one that offers you what you want (for me it was a low one off charge). I havent made much, I dont really have the time to do all the research required, and certainly not the money to take many losses.

You can buy shares any company, but as places like Tesco are around 300p a share, you get far fewer shares. Not that it really matters, its more about % increase than the number. Small companies are often much riskier, you are likely to lose a lot, but then again you can make great gains. I invested in a small company, and nothing happened for about 2 years. I got bored and sold them for about a £100 profit. If I sold 2 weeks later it would have been about £20000. live and learn.

My current investment (around 2-3 years now) has gone nowhere and doesnt look like it will anytime soon.

My share portfolio has seen steady growth :)

My investment in my PhD (tax free), is slowly coming along. I'm getting a return in the form of my results (admittedly there was no real return until year three), but I should be rewarded (with all gods willing), to see capital gains (i.e. pass the damn thing), upon the viva later this year.

thanks everyone for your contributions - esp Richmond - am looking for an executor as i only want to invest once for the look term - say five to ten years - i don't plan to sell the shares before that. don't know if that is a good thing or a very naive thing.

Depends. For a fairly wide portfolio with investments in a wide range of areas I think the general trend is upwards (profit). However, for a single individual company things are more variable. If you invest now, that company could go either way (hence why investing in a range of companies is safer, as those that lose will be ofset by those that increase). However, if of course you have a feeling about a company, for example a new biotech company, then long term investment in just that one company could yield rewards. Investing only £100, it prob doesnt matter what happens to it that much though. Of course you may need to invest more money (takes money to make money) to see big gains.

As I was saying, I have only invested in a few small companies and apart from the one I sold early the rest dont seem to be going anywhere, though I am hopeful for the next 5 years.

Finding time to research all these companies is prob the hardest thing, which is why most people are quite happy for their bank/finacial institution to do it for them. I think funds that track the index are the safest (that nearly always goes up).

One other thing you should perhaps think about is tax. You will have to pay capital gains tax on any profit you make on your shares. As far as I know, the only way to avoid this is to open a maxi isa. The problem here is that you are at the whim of the bank who will pick the shares etc for you. There are online borkers who will let you pick your own shares within an isa, but as far as I know they will charge you anually for the privelge. Still, may be worth looking into.

They need an edit function here. You will have to pay CGT when you make over 9000 pounds profit. So you may not need to worry if all you will invest is £100.

wow Richmond, you know so much! hopefully that will be me in the next few months. yes, i will look into the stuff you mentioned, particularly tax and weigh my options. will keep you posted.

Dont know if I know that much, after all I havent made a million .

I read quite a bit when I started out. When moneys involved I find it hard to just jump in without trying to know everything about it. There is also tax on dividends, but im not sure how that works (ive never made dividends but its something like 10% lower tax bracket, 30% higher tax bracket and 10% flat when in an isa). Again, it all depends on how much you earn and whether you go over your anual allowance. However, it will certainly complicate your tax return.

Good Luck with your investment!

Hi Jojo,

yet be careful with investments in China, enormous gains yet bubble is expected to burst in near future

thanks rick.

so much info on where to invest my £100

keep them coming