I hesitate to use the phrase ‘small investor’. ‘Tiny’ would be better. Even miniscule. I trade out of my share ISA. So what am I telling you?
Always rely on your own research and professional judgement. Don’t be led by what someone else is telling you. Magazines like ‘Investors Chronicle’, are great for generating ideas for someone coming to it new. But remember that as soon as IC recommends a share, its price will shoot up. So take a step back and wait a few weeks before making that decision. Some of the online recommendations always seem to me to be over optimistic, as if they want to pull you in.
I opened up my share Isa about a year before covid. When that struck, my account dipped £5,000 overnight. So did everybody else’s. I wondered whether it might be a great time to buy. But every time I bought a share, thinking that it was already at rock bottom, it would go down a little further. But eventually things picked up, as it did for all of us.
I also try to be an ethical investor. I always try to invest in companies which manufacture in the UK. I also look for geopolitical changes to guide me towards companies in which to invest. Following the recent America and India trade deals, I looked at the whiskey Industries, whom I think are likely to most benefit. Even though I’m not a whiskey drinker. At the moment there’s a lot of news about weight loss drugs and how demand is outstripping supply. So far the only talk is about demands on the NHS. But I guess that it won’t be long before some of the pharmaceutical companies will be launching their own over-the-counter equivalents. So I want to get in there. I wanted to invest in the American company, Eli Lilly, which is a leader in the field, but my Isa platform wouldn’t let me. So I guess that I’m going to have to settle for AstraZeneca.
I’ve also started to look at companies who manufacture renewable energy euipment in the UK. I found a few and have invested.
For me, the most important indicator of a share’s performance is the official graph. As long as the line keeps going up, I will hang in there. But as soon as it begins to plateau, I will think about what I need to do. Maybe it’s time to cash in part of that shareholding and keep running the rest of the shares in that company. When I’m investing in a new share, I try to start with a few hundred pounds to see how it works out. Then, if the value increases, this gambler will shove some more money on the table. Hope this is helpful.
BRUCE AND HOLLY 