UKC

Is it even possible to play the stock market from the comfort of your own home. Does anyone do it, and where did you start?

In reply to Dominicandave:

Hey, not too sure about stock market trading but you can do FOREX trading, currency and similar. Not too sure how to go about it, have been considering for a while though.

In reply to TiredJazmyn:

You can do shares too. Just google it.

In reply to AJM:

I was going to google that after "Bank of Dave", was feeling too lazy to do it during lol. Time to look into it.

In reply to Dominicandave: The motley fool is a good place for shares - as cheap as 3.50 a trade and all done through halifax.

In reply to Dominicandave: I buy and sell shares through my bank via the internet, easy peasy.

In reply to escudoturbo:

£3.50 is incredibly cheap, is it just the FTSE100 companies? Or has the market just gotten a lot more competitive recently? Buying and holding shares is not something that I do.

In reply to Dominicandave:

The problem with trading the stock market from home is the transaction fees.

£10-£20 per trade. This fee means that each trade has to make more than £20 to be worth your while. So you are limited to long term buy and hold strategies. Which may be fine, but I wouldn't describe it as playing the stock market. If this interests you, most high street banks offer self trade products, where you buy shares in companies that you chose. Personally I would recommend buying Exchange Tracker Funds over managed funds or individual stocks.

If you want to "play" the stock market, the way forwards is spread betting. This is placing a wager on the movement of a stock. Here the fees are usually a percentage of winnings, and the returns are tax free. So someone with a small (less than £250,000) pot can trade regularly, and turn a profit. Most companies will offer a practice account. It is also possible to lose more than your initial deposit.

As stated above, forex has low barriers to entry too.

If you are a small investor, look for investment opportunities that can only support a small amount of capital. That is your one advantage as a small trader. This works because the city doesn't care about an opportunity that can only make £100,000 per year, but you do.

This is a good first book to read about investing
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Long-Short-Investment-Normally-Intelligent/dp/09548...

In reply to John1923:

Just. Say. No.

In reply to Steve John B:


Haha. No man, let em play. The longer unsuspecting dupes who think they can get something for nothing while devaluing someone else's net worth keep fuelling the stock market with their hard earned cash the longer we can avoid being the next Greece. As long as greedy people think they can gamble their way to fortunes untold then we have a functioning stock market and I can still get my hard earned cash out of the bank each week. It reminds me of the endowment mortgage mess. If it wasn't for that we would be Greece by now. Long live the idiot

In reply to EZ:

Greece is a f*ckpot because their fiscal policy and systems are at best, shambolic.

Equity trading played little if any part.

Got a pension?

In reply to John Rushby:

You are tetchy tonight sir!

What's it your business who has what? If you mean am I party to playing the stock market through a third party institution because you want to call me an idiot by my own terms, no sir I do not gamble at all! Mugs game unless you are the mug who runs the game!

In reply to EZ:

I am not tetchy, you just seem to be happy dispensing judgement on all and sundry, then feign surprise when someone calls you on it.

In reply to John Rushby:

You haven't called me on anything. You tried weakly to trip me up and it appears that I didn't fall.

And what's wrong with sharing an opinion that gambling is a poor pastime. Sure I used a heaped spoon of sarcasm to do it but the intention beyond just enjoying my own humour was to point out that the stock market is a casino and the house has the edge. The only real winners who play the stock market are those who have enough money and facilities to move amounts of money that you (presumably) and I can probably not even imagine, via exchange mechanisms and financial vehicles from second to second. The average guy or gal in the street is usually the mark of a confidence tricksters game.

In reply to EZ:

Not really, you seem to post rants in tablets of stone, and when called, post a two line reply rather than engage in a debate. Your gubbins on the Tomlinson thread sounded like a tap room bully. When "called" you made no response Off Duty provided you with a very reasoned reply and I doubt based on past performance, that you will show the courtesy of an equally reasoned response (whether he is right or wrong is immaterial).

I would like to post more, but I'm on my Billberry and my thumbs ache.

In reply to John Rushby:

Likewise on my phone. It does make forum tennis difficult.

In reply to EZ:

yup.

for fun, simply post

General Haig - war Hero

and await Bruce Hooker's fervent, spleen emptying invective.

In the meantime, you can go buy a fairtrade organic moccha choca frapaccino and i can go beat up a tramp.