This is an outstanding board.I am delighted to see Ian making every effort
to ensure it stays this way.
rgds aj

gunnergonk,

It was the sort of thing that you would expect a Redneck
Klu Klux Klan mental pygmy to make.

Nobody is going to repeat it.
Forget about it.

Melnibone.

Getting back to the original point.
Thesaurus,
Run a paper portfolio for six months trying different strategies. You'll learn how easy it is to lose money and you'll still have your 5000 at the end of it. Remember: a lost opportunity is better than an actual loss.
fartingbear

Ian -Well done -Doesnot matter what Testex wrote as soon as someone starts taking personal Bites at someone -than you know that things are getting rabid and they have relinquished their right of "freedom of speech" for there is civlilty and courtesy to maintain harmony at all levels.

rgds
zarif

5k is subjective to a "Caliph it may be Dirt but To the Dirt Its Caliph!!!!!"

I recommend that you spend it on high class hookers. Remember to light your Havana cigar with a flameing 50 note. That's guaranteed to take you to heaven and back.

Open an online controlled risk spreadbetting account & buy the sept/dec Torex Retail plc future listed on AIM current margin req 20% up to you how much of 5k you use suggest 1k initially ( ascertain per point value relative to current price based upon margin )and continue buying on dips of 10% or more current underlying share price spread 67/72. Prob will fall back to 63/65 offer short term fr current levels allow for small future price/spreadbetting premium but commence buying around this area with a trailing stop.

I think the guy with 5k should open an account with CMC and cfd on margin and scalp 0.5p on a short, but be very careful, its easy for LITTLE people with not many funds to get caught out, so make sure you understand what your entering yourself into.

Ian ( Moneyam)

Good to see you have kept Testex off this board, i'm sure the police worked wonders with him, i heard they held his hand out and smacked his knuckles with a ruler and said dont do it again or possibly they never bothered visiting him, cos they have far better things to do with their valuable time.

Its good to see that Moneyam can stop these people from entering on these boards, ip address's work wonders these days ;-)

good to hear you kept Nikkei225 on this thread, your so clever Moneyam, LOL.

THESAURUS,HI ARE YOU SERIOUS ABOUT 5OOO,IF I SAID TO YOU GIVE ME 5000 AND BY NEXT WEEK YOU GET 30000 BACK ,YOU WOULD LAUGH AT ME.,,LETS JUST SEE THEN.
duke of venice 3.45 goodwood,,18/5/2004 predominate stakes if the ground gets a bit of water ,,you will get 30000 back,i am on at 5/1, 100 to win

Plant sowing potatoes etc and save money on your grocery bills. Keep enough potatoes left over to plant the following year. Buy low power long life light bulbs. Use waste, eg old newspapers, as loft insulation. Etc.

When you no longer need money short term then its time to think about speculating.

Warren Buffet: Don't hold a share for 5 minutes that you are not prepared to hold for 5 years.

(Even if a company is fundamentally undervalued, the current price represents the average current opinion of those interested, and that opinion could move against you. Its only over time that the fundamentals should win out, and even then, they can change due to unforseen circumstances: eg rogue trader and Kobe earthquake taking down Barings bank.)

Short term ?How long ?
rgds aj

Just like the original poster, I too have a "small" pot of beans my wife & I have put aside for MY "new" career ... trading from home. I'm 45, unemployed, ex-metallurgical engineer, ex-electronics engineer, ex-quality/reliability engineer, ex-statistician, ex-lecturer (letcher), MBA, etc., etc. with about 15,000 to start with. Fortunately, my better half works full-time.

I've been lurking on MoneyAM since just b-4 9/11, running as many demos on as many sites as I care too mention (mostly very dissapointing - mostly the loss of intraday interactive realism - watching the L2 screen still turns my brain into a turkey).

I feel "psychologically" ready to start trading ... my technical competence is still questionable ... but the only way to test the brakes is to start rolling down the hill ... hopefully a very slight slope, building up a small momentum.

My initial strategy is to invest in 5 shares (x 1,000), held over a period of 10 days, hoping to see a return of 3% (30 net profit) per share. Ideally, I'd like to see a larger return, but 4 now, I want to see HOW, technically, it all works, ie. the broker service, the computer system/s (hardware & software), the transfer of funds, the opening of a trading account (first & foremost). And then the final consolidation and sale of shares, as well as being able to find my transactions history and funds in my account. All this is still alien to me - hence STEP 1.

U could argue that I only invest 500 off the bat to research how the brokers work, the system and data monitoring packages. What scares me is that I don't get the best market price on purchase/sale because it may depend on WHO I'm registered with as a trader. I'm not sure if there is any regulations that force brokers to offer the same prices as seen on the floor (L2)?

I'm also considering a new PC with 4 monitors ... currently I have a portable with 2 screens and broadband. Ideally, I'd love to watch a trader for a day to see which Software / Hardware and Broker/s they use.

Finally, I cannot get my head around "going short" and profiting from it (I understand CFD) Wot about boring "missionary position" stock trading?

Feel free to comment.

If I was you I would put your 5k in a bank at 4.5% Their aint no get rick quick tips. like the rest of us you take your chances win great loose take it like a man on the nose. But you sound as if you would top yourself if you loose, and 5k aint enought to top yourself PUT IT IN THE BANK

Just read my own post .. sorry folks, it's all over the place. Let's see if I can get to the point. This to those with a few years trading experience:

1. Do U have networked PC's linked at home, or multiple screens to one "supa" puter?

2. Which technical analysis software do U use? Sharescope / Visual Trader / MoneyAM, ... etc?

3. Which trading platform do you use - ie. getting in and out of the market

4. Do U keep this on a seperate monitor, live and open at all times?

5. Is there a share price variance between the technical packages and the trading platform which also quotes it's own share prices?

6. Are all sell transactions transacted immidiately - especially penny shares? OR could they decline my sell request?

7. On MoneyAM's streaming data screen, TYPE of Tx is "O", "AT" and "L" ... what do these stand for?

8. Is it still possible to get an online T+10 account?

9. I'm happy (well, resigned) to meet Tx costs, varying from 7 to 15 a deal. But having looked at Hoodless Brennan & Prtners website (demo) ... cheap isn't necessarily best ... what is the concensus out there as to who are the most professional and helpful (online) broker - or should I get a "payphone" broker on the high street?

10. How do the X-purts KNOW there's been a pos+ move on a stock they own, given that we're not chameleons able to watch 2 monitors (shares/graphs/etc.) simultaneously?

Please feel free to comment, I promise not to sue!

OK before anyone accuses me - I don't get a commission from croc (posts the daily traders thread), but I would recommend attending one of his one day courses. I've been investing for more than 20 years, and trading on & off for the last couple of years. But struggled to get my head round some of what I was hearing & seeing. Finally 2 weeks ago I went on his one day course - it confirmed a lot of what I had heard, but most of all he actually showed me (& everyone else there)by putting into practice things - you got see to believe! Personally I wish I'd done it years ago - but of course I thought I didn't need it, as I'd been involved some way or annother in the market all my life.

I suggest you base everything on Need to Know i.e.discard 90 per cent of
information.
rgds aj

I agree with LW. I have been trading for years but have signed up for one of Croc's courses in August, i.e. www.snappytrader.co.uk to learn more. I don't think anybody would advise investing in the stockmarket if you can't afford to lose it - you could put the lot in and lose most of it overnight with one terrorist attack and that is the reality, even with blue chips. Meanwhile, with regard to broker, I changed mine a couple of years ago and now use comdirect who charge 12.50 flat rate - not cheapest, but have used for some time and found them extremely good. I am sure you can find similar but they also handle my SIPP (which is one of the reasons I chose them, as not everybody will do this). IMHO. DYOR.

T D Waterhouse also do 12.50 flat rate. 11.95 as a frequent trader, I find it suits my requirements, easily obtained trading details, instant trades at prequoted price and hardcopy backup usually the next day.
Hope this may help a little.
opto

If I were u, I would follow Sue Helen tips, she always picks good stock and they tend to go up, must be strict as they also fall very quickly so u need to keep an eye. Good examples: British Energy, Warthog, CWV Webview, African Gold. Soem people call her a ramper, maybe she is but so what!!! it works. PEOPLE SHOULD TAKE RESPONSABILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THEIR OWN ACTIONS. She is not putting a knife and asking anyone to buy, she just state some facts and it is up to you to decide. If I had follower her I would have made tons of money. I decided not to in few occasion but I did with Warthog and made some quid. Thanks Sue Helen!! Your fan number 1!

Straight away I'd forget trying to make a profit in 10 days. There is a spread on the shares 5a difference between buy and sell prices). I'm pretty sure the MMs don't like to move the price by more than the spread in a short period of time, unless they have a reason to do so. So in the absense of news for the companies you are unlikely to be in profit that quickly; and if you were, it might be eaten up by trading costs. Work out 12.50*10=125, 5 buys and 5 sells. Add on 1% stamp duty or whatever it is, 5000*1%=50, and we are talking about having to make 175 just to stand still. Forget that. Go for undervalued shares and hold for a long time if they are moving slowly.

To start off with however, you might want to move your money around let's say from year to year. There are a couple of reasons. 1. With such small amounts you can buy and sell without moving the price, or at least you spoil the price for somebody else and not the rest of your share holding. 2. You are likely to be within your capital gains limits, so you can move the profit into another share without first giving away 40%.

There are reasons however not to move money around. If you find a good well managed growing company, why move the money. It only takes one mistake to put it into a dog, and you are easily stuck.

Get a good understanding of how compound interest works. For example a bet of Schumacher to win a race is higher risk than a bet for him to be world champion. But a race bet can give a return in hours whereas a championship bet need months to mature. So which is better value, the risky race bet, where returns can be compounded several times over the months? That's a simple example, but trading costs, risk/reward (expected return), compounding, and tax are the key things to understand to maximize your return.


1. Do U have networked PC's linked at home, or multiple screens to one "supa" puter?

A1. I have a good computer with modem internet access. It did have two screens but lightening took out the one that wasn't protected by a uninterruptable power supply.


2. Which technical analysis software do U use? Sharescope / Visual Trader / MoneyAM, ... etc?

A2. None. I base myself on fundamentals. I do look at charts, but I don't use them much for actual trading.


3. Which trading platform do you use - ie. getting in and out of the market

A3. I don't know what is a good platform, and I'd like to find out. I have a large amount in a company that is just siting still, but when the time does come to sell, I will be an active trader and having the right platform might make a reasonable difference. At the moment it doesn't. With 5000 I'd think your effort is far better directed at picking shares than picking your platform.


4. Do U keep this on a seperate monitor, live and open at all times?

A4. I used to. It was fun to watch the market move, and sometimes I'd jump the moment a price varied. I had SMS alerts to my phone and would buy some things the moment they dipped, etc. But assuming what you are buying is an absolute bargain that you have recognised, something is wrong if you are out and waiting for the bargain to get a lot cheaper.

It is something I will consider doing again when I have a large cash pile in addition to my main investments.


5. Is there a share price variance between the technical packages and the trading platform which also quotes it's own share prices?

A5. Others will know that better than me. When I buy things, like the field next to my house, I'm not too concerned about the price as it is valuable to me. If a share is well undervalued you can try to get the best price you can on it, but surely not at the expense of missing it. If it is not well undervalued, don't buy it, wait for one that is. You will make mistakes, everybody does, so why add to that by going for things you are not certain about?


6. Are all sell transactions transacted immidiately - especially penny shares? OR could they decline my sell request?

A6. You can put in 'limit' orders or 'at best' orders. Limit orders will not go through until the share is at the price you specify or better. 'At best' should go through straight away. That's for trades like your 5,000. If you have a big stake in an illiquid company, it could be that nobody wants it, or it has to be leaked into the market over a long period. I don't think you'll have that problem for some time yet.


7. On MoneyAM's streaming data screen, TYPE of Tx is "O", "AT" and "L" ... what do these stand for?

A7. I use a rival site more frequently than this, and the mnemonics look different, but there is usually a help button to explain. If not, contact MoneyAM, or ask again.

8. Is it still possible to get an online T+10 account?

A8. I'm pretty sure it is, but I haven't got one. TDWaterhouse do T+20 I think, so that qualifies as T+10 in my book, just settle earlier if that is what you want.

That implies to me that you want to guess events. If that is something you are talented at fine.

I'd like T+20 too, but I'd use it just so that I can buy a bargain at a moments notice and than sort out the funds for it in my own time. I wouldn't try to be a day trader. (Leaking a huge holding into the market might be called day trading, I don't know. As I say, I'm sitting and holding at present.)


9. I'm happy (well, resigned) to meet Tx costs, varying from 7 to 15 a deal. But having looked at Hoodless Brennan & Prtners website (demo) ... cheap isn't necessarily best ... what is the concensus out there as to who are the most professional and helpful (online) broker - or should I get a "payphone" broker on the high street?

A9. I prefer online. I hate call centres etc. With just experience of two brokers, very different, one online and one very much a human touch, I'm not qualified to reply.



10. How do the X-purts KNOW there's been a pos+ move on a stock they own, given that we're not chameleons able to watch 2 monitors (shares/graphs/etc.) simultaneously?

A10. I had stock alerts sent by email to an SMS gateway and then to my phone. It has happened that I have been online with the thing staring me in the face, and the first I knew about it was the phone bleeping and reading it on the SMS. I bought the share and the buy pushed the price straight back to where it was. I saw it as a profit of sorts at the time. They company went through sort of bankruptcy since, but emerged alive but crippled.

Choice is far more important than price. I read once about Glaxo Smithklein Beecham - and I don't know if this is true, I haven't checked the prices - but the shares were say 30 and if you bought them 30 years before for 30p instead of 15p, people would have called you a nutter.

Maybe the story is not true, but it illustrates the point.


I'll not spend my time ramping my favorite share here, but something goes into production this year; something else the year after. They have a partner to help them progress, and contracts which only bear fruit after a period of time. I'm patiently (or more like impatiently to be honest) waiting for all that to filter through.

Some people buy on hope, others on the rumours, some on the contract news, some on production, some on break even, some on profit, when there is a reasonable dividend, etc.

The trouble with the stock market is if you have a shares in a good company that you have researched well it is a risk to put money into a lesser researched company, especially when 40% is going to go in tax.

I am happy to move the money around. But I need a darn good reason to do it.