I've managed to persuade my good wife to allow me to chuck 500 into the stock market and I'm trawling all my back editions of SHARES mag to try and find a speculative share at around or under the 25p mark and all I've managed to do is stress myself out and create a list that I am about to take a stab at with a pin whilst blindfolded. I missed the boat on several stocks recently and am now in the position of asking if anyone has any tips for me to look at?
I know I need to DMOR but I still struggle to get my head round fundamentals and would welcome any ideas for a short term punt!
I know posting this seems reckless and smacks of a naive desperation for inspiration and well......... it is!
ANY IDEAS?

Open a spreadbetting account and you can trade dozens of shares
with 500. That way you can spread the risk and maybe even find
a winner.

dyor as per usual kram. itu look half decent to me. bwdik.

Why less than 25p? The lower the share price, the more difficult it is to make money on a share, because of the higher spread. Apart from that there is nothing in the price that indicates cheapness, so it is very flawed as a selection criterion. Quite apart from the spread, a share trading at 600p can be cheaper than one at 1p.

in all honesty 500 is a small amount to expect to make any money in the short/medium term.

shares are not cheap because they are a penny, nor expensive if they are a tenner.

stick a few blue chips in your monitor such as vod, cs.,and see how you fare before using real money.

also do some basic maths.
500 buys 100 shares at a fiver each. add dealing costs and stamp duty and you need to be able to sell at at LEAST 5.50 to break even.

good luck

Investment trust warrants can be quite exciting and there's plenty under 25p.
I've been dead lucky with some recently and made 250% in months.
http://www.trustnet.com/it/funds/warrants.asp has a list - I tend to look for those whose share price is fairly close to the exersise price and also have a few years to run.I don't think you can trade them on the net though? Also you will have to sign a form saying you're a real cool cookie and understand the stock market before you can deal.

have a look at gxn the co that just bought pipex.

read the RNS and the press from the weekend and the gxn threads on this board.

They're 7.5p offer down 3% today after some recent gains.

I'm holding some and think they could be a good bet mid/long term

but don't buy them on my say so!

Thanks for the input folks I really appreciate the time you have taken to respond.
I'm currently taking a look at the leads given and will do so with prudence. Any decisions I make will of course be my own but I appreciate the inspiration. This post was driven by frustration more than anyhing else. I currently have a tiny portfolio of 7 stocks with selftrade that I have cobbled together over the last 3 or 4 months and I marvel at my ability to place stocks like pursuit dynamics and dana petrolium on my watch list only to purchase osmetech and intellexis! Although currently 8.5% ahead of the game, I remain a novice who does not possess the time or intellect to get my head round eps, pegs, etc. I sit slavering by the letter box waiting for my shares mag (TOMORROW!!!!)and then scan it feverishly whilst bullying my wife into allowing me to gamble some of her bonus! Don't get me wrong; if my portfolio imploded tomorrow the worst downside would be a thick ear.Anyway I'm off to take a look at gxn.... thanks ricardopage and good luck to all!

read rtd why investors room lots views wide sourse best wishes be wary spredbetting can pay off but 80% loose D.

better put as RTD WHY ? D

Thanks Douggie
RTD is certainly interesting and I agree with your views on spreadbetting. To be honest it scares the s**t out of me and I might as well have a go on a one armed bandit given my level of expertise.K.

Kram:
Its no laughing matter as its your money that u are playing with.
My suggestion to you would be to get a limited ruisk account with say Igindex as you can put your stoplosses etc.
I like u used to be scared of sb etc but not anymore.
I started with zero in cash and opened an account with spreadex which gave me 500 credit account and with them even though amickeymouse operation (so called online trading) you can bet frop 1p to whatever. I used 1 /pt and waited for the market to come to me and i built my from them. You are lucky that u have 500. (get 500 credit from them and trade) dont risk your own money at first.
I started the Dow Index thread and would be honored if you frequent us and post your questions and fears as the guys on it are very helpful
look fwd to hearing from u
rgds
zarif

kram

spreadbetting is best left to experts/peeps with bottomless pockets. its gambling pure and simple.

i have been investing for over 10 years now and believe me, tips are a waste of time, wherever they originate. i susscribe to a few tipsheets, NOT for tips, but updates. look at rhps for example

tipped SEO on friday
could YOU have got in monday for less than the mms marked it up on the tip?

do your own thing and take no notice whatsoever of tips.

this lesson has cost me over 20k over the years. dont go the same route.

all imo of course.

All Posters

Well I ended up last night with a list of 18 companies that were all IMO exiting in their own ways. I read through shares mag this morning and none were featured, though once again I found I was extending my list of potential punts and by the time I had drank 4 cups of coffee I was totally wired and confused.
If I was sensible I would probably have stuck my little stake into a fund and continued my efforts to learn more about investing directly into the markets.
Did I do this? NO of course I didn't.
I went through my list chucking out the ones I least liked the look of and finally thought that if Warren Buffet was silly enough to risk a fraction of his beer money on GXN then I was silly enough to risk my remaining stake money!
Thanksto Zarif for the invitation, I will pop along and have a look but I agree with Superrod and will leave spreadbets to the experts.Ricardopage...Thanks for the pointer and don't worry I won't blame you if it goes pear shaped!!

kram,

To be honest a good method may be to drip feed in a set sum each month, into a low cost dealing account (Comdirect/Hoodless)and check out and trade AIM stocks, which normally offer better growth potential.

Set a stop loss, say 20%, and sell anything that sinks through it.

If a share starts to rise, put next month's payment into it, and increase the winners, pruning the losers as you go. I know dealing costs are a factor, but whilst you may end up making a few buys in one share, as long as it's rising you should still be making money, and you only have to sell once, so this helps reduce the overall cost.

Another way may be to sell half of any share that you hold that doubles, therefore giving you the rest free. Still employ a stop loss though, you don't want to give it all back.

I think Pursuit Dynamics are well worth looking at, STILL! (I hold)
Cardpoint (epic = CASH) are also a steady climber, and their business is still biulding, with transaction numbers climbing. Cardpoint was featured in Shares about 3 weeks ago.

Good luck,

Andy.

SECTORGUARD SECTORGUARD SECTORGUARD SECTORGUARD. Excellent medium term prospects. DYOR.

kram

glad to hear it!

good luck.

ALWAYS LOOK AT what Morgan Stanley holds e.g.they purchased Corus at 5p
and made 1500 million euros.
Everyone is right about spreadbetting,costs,etc.However,99 per cent of people
do not see how simple things are i.e.you buy 1 share at 100 euros and have
99 euros costs you still make 1 euro.Rotschilds,one of the wealthiest families
on the planet had that way of thinking.Someone once said to him: Mr Rotschild,
why are you selling at a dollor profit instead of perhaps 40 dollors?His
reply:A dollor profit is a profit.

Kram:
You have to work out what u want to do exactly and which method or group that u classify yourself as.
My suggestion is do Paper trading and there are quite a few online which give dummy accounts so you can trade shares,spreadbets, cfds etc and even take tutorials ta etc.
Turn your theory into practice as see what happens for a few weeks,months etc on paper trading.
The main step to begin is remember the adage:" you have to crack open a few eggs to make an omelete"

rgds and wish u well
zarif

Zarif,
Great advice to start anyone off on the right road.

thanks ajren - if we dont help each other who will!! The market as i see it in my opinion is the vast ocean and full of sharks and we need Seaman who can guide us through the rough seas and areas of tempests - we want acalm sea with a cool guiding breeze!!!!

Ps: I am on the Dow index thread and would be honored if you would participate on it with your comments Good or bad as no offence will be taken.

rgds
zarif

I suggest EVERYONE reads Zarif letter.It is EXACTLY what I am talking about.

It is a nice,unemotional,logical,businesslike letter.
............
Re Dow Index thread.I would be pleased to comment.However,I know nothing
about it.
...........
Many readers mentioned professional daytrader.I do not have to explain
myself but I will.

I know almost NOTHING about many aspects of the Stock Market e.g.like a
heart specialist might know little/or have forgotten general medicine.
I specialise in a very small area of the market.

Forget the ideas of professional traders etc. On this arena we are all in the same boat and the marketalways does something to outwit us.
My analogy is as follows:
If a person gives you a cup of tea and it tastes nice than rthere is no need to analyse it as to how it was made,the temperature,how much sugar etc.Just enjoy it for what it is.

Nb: ajren thanks for the complliment I will have to tell them at home to take the "doors off its hinges"

Also whatever area u like u can post on it and we shal read and are willing to learn new things and increase our knowledge base.

rgds
zarif

On another tread I said None of us are getting pleasure out of the debate.
I am not going to continue it.

ajren, just for interest could you give a couple of examples of "professional sites" that you look at?

Thanks Wilco99

I'm into sectorguard already but appreciate and share your sentiments. I agree with Zarif that paper trading is wise when starting out. I'll be honest though I knew as little about stockpicking after a couple of months of "pretend" trading as I did before I started.
My most successful stock to date is URM. I bought urbium pre consolidation and despite my mates advice to sell, as "ALL shares drop at consolidation," I held and am currently 68% up with a stop loss set at 5% below this. By contrast I bought ILX who promptly did a reverse split at 1000 for 1 and I am now 36% down on my stake LOL.
The ONLY money I risk is that which, should it all be lost, will mean I stand to be upset but not broken hearted. Don't get me wrong I'm deadly serious about growing my investment its just that I like to sleep at night!