Where do you invest?

Discussion in 'Share Investing Strategies, Theories & Education' started by midou, 29th Nov, 2012.

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  1. midou

    midou Member

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    Hi everybody,

    My financial adviser tried to sell an insurance product to cover a 500K debt (which I don't have), change my Superfund and open a managed fund into an exactly same fund as my Superfund will be. I don’t know what you are thinking but I am not impressed:(
    After this, I decide to educate myself and try to become a "do-it yourself" investor.

    I heard that the share market is bit bumpy at the moment and some are talking about double recessions during next years.

    So where do you invest during this time? I have $5000 to invest (to start) for long term and I don't know much about the share market. So I thought, I will start with index fund, like Vangaurd or iShare but I don't know which one is the best.
    I am also looking to buy some direct share - CWN.AX, WES.AX. Is there any minimum amount to invest?
    I'd like to use online trading website like "belldirect".
    Any thoughts?

    Thanks,
     
  2. Tropo

    Tropo Well-Known Member

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    1) Is your financial advisor still alive ?? :confused:

    2) There is not much you can do with 5K, so instead of wasting your money with managed funds, why don't you educate yourself (books, seminars etc...) and save more money in the meantime ?? :cool:
     
  3. midou

    midou Member

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    Thanks Tropo,
    Yes, still alive...
    I thought you can start with 5k for an index fund... I could be wrong.
    My saving is a lot more than 5k. As I said, I know very little about shares. So I want start with 5k to gain confidence etc.... Is this bad idea? if so, what do you propose?
     
  4. Tropo

    Tropo Well-Known Member

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    "I thought you can start with 5k for an index fund... I could be wrong.
    My saving is a lot more than 5k. As I said, I know very little about shares.
    So I want start with 5k to gain confidence etc.... Is this bad idea? if so, what do you propose?"


    I think that before you do anything you must/should know what you are doing. It is easy to buy shares and even easier to lose the lot.
    So...being in your shoes, FIRST I would educate myself.

    Under no circumstances do NOT rely on other people opinions (TV "gurus", newsletters, taxi drivers tips etc...).
    Become "hands on" active investor, and forget managed funds, if you are willing to make any money in the future.
    Have fun.
     
  5. midou

    midou Member

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    Yes, I agree and thanks again Tropo.

    It is very important to educate yourself through books, etc. but I think it is also important to hear different opinions from experienced people. Hence why I am asking questions on this forum. This is a part of my education :)
    I don't have any desire to invest in managed funds (high fee and low performance). I was asking about Index funds. My understanding was these are two different things. I was hoping if someone can share his/her experience with these products. I am also interested to know how people started? how they started their education? How they start their first investment in share? etc. At the end of the day, you still have to choose your investment based on something.

    Curious debutant.
     
  6. Investment_writer

    Investment_writer New Member

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    Hi, I think you have the right idea by starting small. That's what I did and even though I've made some errors, I've managed to correct as I go. (Dont invest all your money into resources hey!)

    I've written about DIY investing (a 2008 book Sack Your Financial Planner) but I'm not at the top of the tree, most definitely at the bottom. Vanguard is a good Index fund supplier. There are others like iShares which are very low in management fees as well.

    Strategy wise, we are not now in the market to "make gains", we are in it to get a steady income... big difference in today's market. What will 20 years bring? Ups and downs, but hold on tight for good incomes.

    I have a High Growth ETF (Russell) which is diversified across 20 or so blue chip Aussie shares. If sharemarket goes down Exchange Traded Fund goes down too. I also time to time invest have invested in value shares with fantastic dividends. This is not a good idea for $5000 it's too tough to research, track and cant diversify. I have proven that it's emotional as well.

    So, an ETF is traded on the stock exchange, you pay your discount brokerage when you buy and sell any units at all, and you pay the unit price listed on the ETF. Not useful for buying in every month you understand.

    Also there is free sharemarket game on ASX and other places which is really good for paper trading if you are really into it.

    Dont forget to Reinvest your dividends. By reinvesting your dividends you can take advantage of compounding and a bit of averaging out as well. If you just spend them, you cannot take advantage of compounding (just like interest on a term deposit). You tick the box marked "DRP" once you have bought the share or ETF.

    Good on you for learning more... and keep saving up and watching out for the tricksters, commissioned agents and more.
     
  7. midou

    midou Member

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    Thank you so much for your input. Sorry for my delay. I didn't even realised your reply till today.
    Since last time, I did paper traiding on ASX (free sharemaket game) and bought some shares via online trading. All up $5000 value(including one Vangaurd ETF product). I am not doing any active trading but more likely "buy and forget" style investment :). Every 9 month, I have about 1000$ interest from one of my saving so my intention is to buy one company's shares using my interest and... forget about it... maybe until the retirement (about 20-25 years to go:( ...). What do you think about this strategy?