is investing in shares as easy as...

[wizdumb]

...opening an account with stock broking firm, handing over your cash (i see min investment is 5k), and letting them do all the work?

 

[Ecco]

Not sure, but I dont think they will manage you portfolio for only 5k

 

[Ecco]

Also you will need to keep adding cash, you will need to pay a fee monthly to keep you account open, and you will pay brokerage per trade made.

 

[wizdumb]

found the following, while searching on google. title states: re how to invest on the jse limited

They charge a small fee for opening an account; carrying out an instruction to buy or sell; safe custody (keeping the ownership on client’s behalf) and UST, i.e. government tax. Fees are negotiable, with the exception of UST.

and about the monies to invest

Please note that the stock exchange investment requires a lump sum (minimum R5 000) of money and one cannot buy shares through debit orders (installments). It is important to note that brokerage charges are fully negotiable.
Should the above be not affordable to you, you can still participate in share investment through Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) – i.e. Satrix 40, Satrix Indi, Satrix Fini, Satrix Swix Top 40 and Satrix Resi 20. It is permissible to invest as little as R300 per month in the SATRIX products through the Investment Plan. Minimum lump sum allowed into any of these products is R1 000, notwithstanding that one may choose to contribute monthly installments over and above the lump sum.

 

[Ecco]

Pretty much correct above.

But as per your original post, its not as simple as depositing 5k and letting them do the work.

The brokers are not going to make a decision to buy or sell on you behalf. I think you can provide them with the consent to do so, however for a lump sum deposit of 5k its probably not going to happen.

So you are going to have to do the reasearch and decide what shares to buy and when to sell them. Not at all simple.

So for 5k, you will get some shares, but then you will still need to keep pumping money into the brokers account to pay you monthly fees (similar to bank charges).

In short, its not that simple .

 

[DJ...]

If you're looking for someone to manage your money on your behalf then you'll need to invest in specific investment products offered by asset managers like Allan Gray. They offer managed funds into which you invest your money and the fund manager uses the pooled capital to invest in whichever products suit the nature of the fund. It could be an aggressive fund with large exposure to equities and little hedging on the downside, or it could be more balanced with small equities exposure, bond exposure, fixed asset exposure etc and hedged against the downside using other investment instruments.

The banks have asset management divisions but they are what are called "sell side" market players. The asset managers being "buy side" market players. One sells or facilitates trades, the other buys them as investments - put simply. So in other words, your bank can set up an account which facilitates your trades, so they take care of the buy/sell orders from execution to settlement point - but the decision is yours. If you're not financially educated then I'd suggest going the asset management route instead - let the fund manager determine the best investments, but speak to a financial advisor first (the fund managers have plenty of them and won't let you invest without consulting with one) as they are in a position to determine which investment products suit your needs...

 

[Ecco]

aka Unit trusts

 

[wizdumb]

k, so i found a company that helps with buying shares. so i setup an account, took a few days, fica and all, and transfered my spare $$. so now its almost time for the fun and games
*crosses fingers*

 

[marco]

At the moment there is nothing to invest in. Money Market perhaps. For the past 5 months nothing has gone up except gold. Had you been anywhere else you would have lost +- 35%. At the moment ALL is flat at best and will continue for some time.

 

[marco]

Where did you put your money Wiz.

 

[wizdumb]

At the moment there is nothing to invest in. Money Market perhaps. For the past 5 months nothing has gone up except gold. Had you been anywhere else you would have lost +- 35%. At the moment ALL is flat at best and will continue for some time.

got a money market account, but i had money in my savings account, which was serving me no purpose.

@marco : not sure yet, the broker said he'll suggest me some options then i can choose.

but we'll see what happens, as i am clueless in this regard. if he would say invest it all in exxon, i would believe him.

 

[Stokstert]

Have a look at these guys, maybe you find some answers there.

http://equinox.co.za/

 

[marco]

I was with Equinox. Believe me, there is NOTHING to invest in at the moment. Even GLD (gold bullion) is a bit of a risk. I am with GLD and am getting somewhat nervous. And this is the best investment at this time.

 

[milomak]

marco - i am interested how you come to the conclusion that gold is the best thing to invest in when there is a strong likelihood that the major economies are in disinflationary periods, and the possible threat of deflation?

 

[marco]

Gold has always been the hedge against falling markets. When the markets go south then gold goes up as people switch to gold as a safe haven.
I lost 35% before I switched to GLD. If I had stayed with my equities I would have lost another 15%.
But having switched I gained 27%. So I can add 27+15= 42%. This is my "theoretical gain".
Gold has tested $1000 twice and has a new benchmark at $900+. The consenses is gold to reach $1200 this year, so it is not too late to take this gamble as it is $930+- at this time.

 

[marco]

Look at this.
http://www.sharenet.co.za/charts/index.php?load=GLD

 

[Sly21C]

Which online share trading website shows live share prices? I currently use Absa stockbrokers online share trading and the share prices they show are 15 minutes delayed.

 

[DJ...]

Which online share trading website shows live share prices? I currently use Absa stockbrokers online share trading and the share prices they show are 15 minutes delayed.

Unless you're day trading, why would you want live pricing feeds? Most providers show 15 minute delayed pricing. Live pricing is very expensive. But you can get them through Bloomberg, i-net bridge, Thomson Reuters and other professional trading vendors...

 

[marco]

I would suggest www.imaraspreid.co.za
Now is the time for GLD. Gold price has dropped to $915 and the R$ is 10.3
Consensus from brokers is gold to reach $1200 and R$ to 13.00 soon. This is a great leverage. You score on gold price and R$ exchange. Do not do it tomorrow as China is to announce a stimulus package tonight and this could see a major short term +- 2 days boost for equities and bad for gold.

 

[DJ...]

Consensus last year was to bottom out at $1000-00. The market is far too volatile to depend on broker consensus' imo...