# How to buy shares



## DELLBOY 08 (7 Jul 2008)

I'm considering buying some shares in a large Irish bank. As someone who's never bought shares before, how do I go about doing this?


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## ClubMan (7 Jul 2008)

Key posts
www.itsyourmoney.ie


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## lazylump (9 Jul 2008)

> I'm considering buying some *shares* in a large Irish bank. As someone who's never bought *shares* before, how do I go about doing this?


 
I am also interested in buying some shares and maybe letting them sit for a few years. Can the bank share prices go any lower, maybe so but it will have to even out soon.

I just find how to go about exactly buying shares unclear and I keep getting bogged down with jargon and the different types of shares. Is there a coures that can be done to learn about share dealing.


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## ClubMan (9 Jul 2008)

lazylump said:


> I am also interested in buying some shares and maybe letting them sit for a few years. Can the bank share prices go any lower, maybe so but it will have to even out soon.


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## LDFerguson (9 Jul 2008)

lazylump said:


> I just find how to go about exactly buying shares unclear and I keep getting bogged down with jargon and the different types of shares. Is there a coures that can be done to learn about share dealing.


 
There are courses - [broken link removed] and Invest Like The Best are two. I've never been on either so I can offer no comment as to how good or bad they might be.  I know someone who has been on the ILTB one and was impressed.


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## sherib (9 Jul 2008)

Buying shares can be as simple or complicated as you want. I went the simple way 18 months ago and invested in three shares "at the top of the market" I later discovered! If recent posters have read the key posts they should know all they need to know already. All you have to do (simple way) is:

Step 1 
Select broker based on cost. I went with Campbell, O'Connor.
Step 2 
Select share you wish to purchase. Share prices can be tracked on various sites. I just looked at the ISEQ (Irish) and FTSE (U.K.) indices. 
[broken link removed]
Step 3
Phone Broker with name of share and amount you wish to invest. A minimum of €2,000 is recommended due to % charge by broker.

After that the broker does everything - sends on share certs by post. It's a completely painless process! Based on what I've read, investing in shares is for the long or at the very least the medium term. 

Of the three shares I invested in, one is now only half the price I paid but I'll just hang in till it recovers. The other two have done better having almost doubled - so I'm happy. 

An oft repeated caveat is "beware of falling knives". I think that means buying when you think the price has bottomed out. We'd all be rich if it were that easy! IMO, the best way to learn is to do it, so, good luck. There's an Irish site called  worth looking at but I've never found it particularly useful.


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## lazylump (9 Jul 2008)

Thanks guys

I registered for information on a course in Cork and will take it from there.

Also I had no intention on discussing individual shares but was just following an earlier post which mentioned certain institutions.


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## ClubMan (9 Jul 2008)

What "information course"?
How much?
Be careful of snake oil salesmen claiming that they can teach you how to pick winning stocks etc.
There is wealth of useful info available for free already.


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## nansus (13 Jul 2008)

Some banks offer on line share trading if you have a current A/C with them (NIB is one).
 The bank stores the certificates electronically for you so, no need for posting certificates etc.


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## Jim Davis (14 Jul 2008)

AIB have online share dealing on interent banking.


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## flybynight (14 Jul 2008)

Some good info there guys, thanks.

What about one-off share purchasing? What is the most economical way to buy, for ex. €10k of shares, and leave them for 7-15 years. Is there any way without annual fees, etc, associated with the companies listed above?


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## lazylump (15 Jul 2008)

I did the Solas course which I found good. Its a four hour course which ran over to about 5 hours. I found it cleared my mind and improved my understanding of share values and discussed how to protect yourself from heavy losses. Also covered was trading cost. This course cost 295 euros and I think it was worth it.

However when I trade I want to use the international brokers and trade online. This is mainly for the cost of the tranaction which would be around 10 dollars online compared to as much as 1.5% of value per trade in Ireland. I also feel more secure with the international brokerage because the companys are much larger.

Yet when I go online to say Interactive Brokers and look at the demo windows I panic. I find the amount of information and jargon is unclear and with these companys there no one to phone to explain the interface.


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## charttrader (15 Jul 2008)

lazylump said:


> I did the Solas course which I found good. Its a four hour course which ran over to about 5 hours. I found it cleared my mind and improved my understanding of share values and discussed how to protect yourself from heavy losses. Also covered was trading cost. This course cost 295 euros and I think it was worth it.
> 
> However when I trade I want to use the international brokers and trade online. This is mainly for the cost of the tranaction which would be around 10 dollars online compared to as much as 1.5% of value per trade in Ireland. I also feel more secure with the international brokerage because the companys are much larger.
> 
> Yet when I go online to say Interactive Brokers and look at the demo windows I panic. I find the amount of information and jargon is unclear and with these companys there no one to phone to explain the interface.



You can phone/have online chat with IB staff. 
You can also opt to use IB's WebTrader, a simple buy/sell trading interface.  See [broken link removed]


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## lazylump (17 Jul 2008)

charttrader said:


> You can phone/have online chat with IB staff.
> You can also opt to use IB's WebTrader, a simple buy/sell trading interface. See [broken link removed]


 
Thanks I didn't know that I will give them a call.


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## Iceman732 (17 Jul 2008)

Personally I think anyone thinking of buying shares should consider purchasing them through a Pension Fund. Naturally the efficiency of this depends on the age of the individual, i.e. how close to retiring they are, and also their level of income. 

Lets say someone decides to buy €15,000 worth of shares. Buying these in normal circumstances would cost an individual €15,000 plus whatever brokerage etc.... If, however, the individual was to purchase the shares through a self administered pension fund the cash flow implications would be considerably less. If bought through a Pension Fund the net cost would be €8,850. I've assumed that the individual has sufficient income to offset Pension relief at 41%.

The reason I'm suggesting this for people closer to retirement age is that the money won't be locked in for as long. Of course you have to remember that the individual would be entitled to a 25% tax free lump sum upon retirement from the pension fund too. 

Worth thinking about.


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