magazine archive
magazine archive
First-time Investor
Great places to find investment ideas and do research
Thursday 16 Jul 2020One of the first questions asked by beginner investors is where to find investment ideas. The choice is vast with more than 2,000 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange and hundreds of funds. Run an internet search for ‘investment ideas’ and you’ll be deluged with options. ‘Expert investment...
Creating a strategy for a beginner stock investor
Thursday 09 Jul 2020Investors need to have a clear goal as this helps to define the type of investments to be considered for a portfolio. For example, are you investing over several decades for a pension pot to draw on when you stop working or are you approaching retirement and need to assess your options now? Is...
Why do companies join the stock market and which ones can I invest in?
Thursday 02 Jul 2020In the previous part of this series we defined what a share was, how you can generate a return by investing in them and how this return can be made up both of dividends and capital gains. In this article we turn to the menu from which you can pick shares. After all, shares come in different sizes,...
What are shares and how do you make money from them?
Thursday 25 Jun 2020Many first-time investors will start by building a basic portfolio from funds. The next step is to look at shares in individual companies. Investing in shares (also known as stocks and equities) can be both an exciting and rewarding activity. However, before you take the plunge it is worth having a...
Our step-by-step guide to help you start investing
Thursday 18 Jun 2020Our first-time investor series has reached the end of its first part, having covered the basics of investing including opening an account, charges, and the difference between the main assets classes including stocks, bonds and property. We’ve talked through the process of setting up and maintaining...
How to maintain a portfolio
Thursday 11 Jun 2020Last week we looked at effective ways to build a portfolio and why it’s so important to construct a well balanced portfolio. In this article we focus on maintaining good balance as the performance of different assets diverges. If you have done a good job constructing your portfolio, you should...
How to build your first investment portfolio
Thursday 04 Jun 2020In the world of investing, the future is unknown leaving investors to make their collective ‘best guesses’ as to what is most likely to happen. It’s not unlike the weather with some days providing glorious sunshine and others a torrential downpour. In other words, it pays to take pack an umbrella...
Understanding bonds and how to invest in them
Thursday 28 May 2020Bonds are an important asset class in the world of investing, providing diversification benefits as well as income. In times of market stress, bonds have historically provided defensive characteristics. First-time investors should use investment funds as the easiest way of adding bonds to their...
The beginner’s guide to picking investment trusts
Thursday 21 May 2020Investment trusts are a great way to get exposure to many different companies and/or bonds in a single product. Each one is run by a fund manager who makes all the investment decisions and there are more than 300 trusts available to UK investors, covering a wide range of sectors, geographies and...
How to choose the right investment fund for you
Thursday 14 May 2020In this latest entry to our first-time investor series we focus on investment funds called unit trusts and open-ended investment companies (OEICs) and explain how a novice investor can kick-start the fund selection process. Thousands of funds are marketed to the investing public, providing...