30k to invest, can i borrow to invest in shares

i've 30k to invest long term, i'm thinking of buyinig an investment property, timing mightn't be great but who knows, otherwise i would invest in a balanced share portfolio, thing is i can obviously get a mortgage to top up my property investment,therefore invest say about 250k, but is it possible to do the same, ie get a mortgage to invest in shares, i would be taking a long term position. i know of the existence of cfds but as far as i'm aware these are only suitable for short term holding of shares, i wouldn't be interested in buying and selling, just buying and holding. would appreciate any advice, thanks

Property is relatively low-medium risk investment. You wouldn't expect to lose all of your money on your investment. Shares on the other hand are considered a high risk investment.

It's generally considered idiotic to risk money that you have borrowed and are paying back interest on, on a high risk investment. It's a different case if it is your money and you are perpared to lose it.

I'd say you'd have as much chnace of getting a 'mortgage' to buy shares as you have of getting a 'mortgage' to bet on the 3.30 at ascot.

I wouldn't recommend borrowing to purchase shares. In saying that, some of the options are CFDs, spreadbetting, buying shares "on margin" or buying into leveraged funds/ETFs.

Blinder said:

Property is relatively low-medium risk investment. You wouldn't expect to lose all of your money on your investment. Shares on the other hand are considered a high risk investment.

It's generally considered idiotic to risk money that you have borrowed and are paying back interest on, on a high risk investment. It's a different case if it is your money and you are perpared to lose it.

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I would not pay too much attention to the Eddie Hobbs type advice shown here - in the first paragraph - bondiblues.

Borrowing to invest in shares was a topic I raised here recently - you could try the Flagship Fund (borrowing to invest in a fund that invests in commodities/equities/property) - or, apparently, opening an account with a leading stockbroker may enable you to borrow money from the brokerage based on your initial deposit.

Billionaires all over the world borrow money to take risk - so to state that it is "idiotic to risk...on a high risk investment" is just about the least entrepreneurial sentiment I have ever heard and one that I guess Dermot Desmond and the like would not quite agree with.

Bondiblues,
Have a read at this, especially the leveraged strategies if that's what you are interested in.

Most banks won't lend "ordinary Joes" money to invest in shares but they probably will to hedge funds and the like.

You can borrow to invest in shares by remortgaging. Some banks will lend to directors to invest in company shares etc. However it very much depends on your financial state and it comes down to affordability ie can you afford to undergo a loss as we all know shares can fall as well as rise........

Blinder said:

Property is relatively low-medium risk investment.

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Given current valuations, I would consider Irish property a high risk investment.

Blinder said:

Shares on the other hand are considered a high risk investment.

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I don't consider shares a high risk investment if an investor understands the basic principles of company valuation and has sufficiently researched their target company. If an investor chooses to buy into an equities fund rather than buy shares directly, they can select a fund that matches their risk profile.

Borrowing to invest in shares probably only makes sense if you already hold a fairly well diversified (by investment timeframe, asset class, risk/reward profile, geographic region etc.) portfolio of savings/investments. It is generally a very high risk/reward strategy since you can lose not only your own money but somebody else's and still have to pay the latter back!

ClubMan said:

Borrowing to invest in shares probably only makes sense if you already hold a fairly well diversified (by investment timeframe, asset class, risk/reward profile, geographic region etc.) portfolio of savings/investments.

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Wide diversification is only necessary when an investor doesn't know what they are doing.

ClubMan said:

It is generally a very high risk/reward strategy since you can lose not only your own money but somebody else's and still have to pay the latter back!

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If you believe it's a high risk/reward strategy since you can loose more than your own money, would you apply similar caution with regard to mortgaged property investments?

ClubMan said:

It is generally a very high risk/reward strategy since you can lose not only your own money but somebody else's and still have to pay the latter back!

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Unless of course you are an ex-Taoiseach, in which case you pay back about 20% of the borrowed money.