Stock Market Shares.

[250BOB]

Hi Guys,

Having never bought or sold a share in my life....I have accumulated an amount during my working life as part of a company share scheme.

 

Has anyone any advice as to where and how to go and do some dealing......NOT the Stock Exchange please.!!

 

Bob

[Brinkly]

Best advice is get a finical adviser of sorts! Your own local bank branch should have someone who specialises in investments.

 

You can add shares to private pension schemes, because Dad does a bit of this as a part-time role for friends and family members.

 

Regards,

 

Nick

 

 

[Steve Williams]

Bob,

 

Buying and selling shares is very easy if you open a nominee share dealing account. I use the Halifax. You may well find this link useful:

 

http://www.halifax.co.uk/sharedealing/getting-started/how-to-sell-shares/

 

If you have shares already, then you can transfer them to the Halifax account by downloading a CREST form. Hope that's of some help.

 

Regards

 

Steve

[Ron Ron Ron]

Bob, are you thinking about the shares you already have, or are you toying with the idea of buying and selling other shares?

[250BOB]

Firstly the old quote, share values can go up or down, take that into consideration when selling or buying. The t'interweb can make it very easy and instantaneous too

 

It'll depend on what sort of shares they are, for example whether you own them in toto, or are share 'options'.

 

If you own them, they are in your name (250bob owns x,ooo shares in acme products ltd), and you can sell whenever you like, you should have a/access to certificate/s showing how many you own. There are dealers and they will normally take a commission based on the sale, but each will have different options and variations/services on the commission and rates. Your company will probably have an free advisor or recommended financial advisor/'dealer' they point the staff towards. In the event they don't and no one gives you a specific steer, then I've used tdwaterhouse, and can recommend them as helpful (plain english speakers) and fairly priced.

http://www.tdwaterhouse.co.uk/choose-an-account/trading-account.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=trading%20-%20shares&utm_term=share%20dealing&atlassearch=paid

 

If you own 'options' then these are an option to purchase the share or sell it and the specific T&C's will vary from scheme to scheme. The option will have a time limit on it by which time you have to have excercised,(used) the facility to buy or sell the share. If you miss the date thats it, game over, you'll forfit the right to the sharesregardless of if they are junk or will make you a billionaire.

 

Watch your companies share price on ft.com for example http://www.ft.com/home/uk

Your company will have a three letter code, type it into the box on the top right and select 'quotes' this will give you an idea of current value eg British Airways = IAG, type it into the box and graphs and data will show you trends current values etc. Many people I know just binned their share options soon as, however if you are prepared to take a risk, (see first sentence), and know your company and their placing in the market, and how well that's doing at the moment and into the future, it can be worth holding on and waiting for a good price rise. Some friends of mine panicked when the market price was around £2.00 for their shares and sold, others rode the storm and sold around the £7.00 mark. Needless to say there is tax to pay and you should definitely get advice on that too, as it can be done by the dealer or left to you as a tax return, see a financial advisor.

 

 

HTH a bit.

 

Thanks for your reply, and the others too, very helpful indeed.

 

I retired early, aged 53, about 9yrs ago, after 33yrs with Johnson Matthey.

The options went a long time ago, and I cant really go back to my company for advice after this length of time.

I do watch the companies shares almost daily, I started getting the shares back in the 70's when they were about £1.50 a share...........they are now over £20 a share. Johnson Matthey is a precious metals company, and you only have to see the gold price to see how well JM are doing.

I was able to retire early after taking home the odd gold bar or two.

 

Thanks all for your advice.

 

Bob

[Kenton]

Good fun if you know what you are doing.

 

A bit like gambling, with many different ways to make or lose your money.

 

Not for the feint hearted and definitely not for those not prepared to research the market/companies.

 

The great thing on the tax side is that you get to be one of the few who can make use of that extra tax allowance.

 

You need quite a large stake to make enough to pay the brokers, commission and to capitalise on the margins. A wide portfolio not a single company, share. A few shares here and there is no real use and probably better just to sell them.

 

As we have all seen recently shares go down as well as up and are sensitive to global news.

[EddieB]

Thanks for your reply, and the others too, very helpful indeed.

 

I do watch the companies shares almost daily, I started getting the shares back in the 70's when they were about £1.50 a share...........they are now over £20 a share. Johnson Matthey is a precious metals company, and you only have to see the gold price to see how well JM are doing.

 

Funny thing, I came across a Triang Hornby price list from 1973 earlier today. In those days you could buy a loaded Freightliner wagon for £1.20, a horse box for 65p and the top of the range locomotives ("Oliver Cromwell", "Prrncess Elizabeth" or a Black 5) for just over a tenner, Judging by equivalent prices nowadays, I'd say your shares have almost/just about kept up. On the other hand, a gallon (youngsters ask your parents) of petrol was around 30p.

 

When it comes to buying and selling you need an agent (called a "broker" up until 1986). Agents that deal with the likes of you and me tend to be divided into those who offer advice (for which you need a big enough investment to make it worth their while - and deep pockets to pay them) or an "execution only" service. There are firms which operate on-line or telephone trades - check out fee structures and get recommendations. Nearly all are pretty efficient (they have to be). (I wouldn't recommend going via a High Street Bank, who generally add another layer of time and cost). Most firms will suggest you open some kind of share account with them, to "de-materialise" your share certificates, to make the shares quicker and easier to trade via Crest (the Bank of England settlement system). On the other hand, quite a few companies offer "perks" to their shareholders, which tend to be available only when your name is on the company register, which usually means hanging onto the certificates. (Share accounts are usually "nominee" accounts - a single registration by the agent, who holds record of ownership - rather than the company registrar). When starting out with any agent, you will need to go through presenting the usual forms of identification rigmarole.

 

As far as tax is concerned, you pay 0.5% stamp duty reserve tax on all purchases (sales are exempt from SDRT). If your net gains for a given tax year exceed the annual exemption amount (currently £10,600) you are liable for capital gains tax on your excess profits - at the same rate as you [would] pay income tax. A simplified regime of exemptions and allowances was introduced a few years ago to replace an over-complicated scheme (only a handful of people at the Inland Revenue, as was, really understood it). There is still more favourable relief for "business" assets - which would apply if you were still working at the company you hold the share of, but not if you are a retiree. Given the length of your holding, there are large elements of indexation and relief which will considerably reduce the net gain potentially liable to tax from the "book profit".

 

If you make an overall loss in any tax year you can declare that to HMRC and offset it against gains in another tax year. It can get complicated, but what it boils down to is that if you're sitting on a large pile of profits, it might be worth taking some up to your annual exemption limit each tax year and avoid CGT, rather than all in one go and getting a hefty tax bill.

[Ian Smeeton]

As the recently retired chairman of our pubs stocks and shares club over the last eight years, we had a lot of fun buying and selling shares, sometimes on a whim, and sometimes with good reason.

 

We managed to buy a few turkeys and lost our entire investment on them, and also a few whose share price was like a roller coaster ride at times.

 

We seemed to be very good at calling the bottom of a particular shares market, and selling our investment then, and yet over the eight years that I invested, from start until demise, my total loss was about £150 over £4800 invested at £50.00 per month.

 

Ir was an easy and interesting way to learn more about the stock market and its ways and methods, while saving a bit for a rainy day.

 

For the bonhomie and banter as well as the information and advice from others more knowledgable than me, I would recommend it as a "way in" to the stock market. As a way to make your fortune, almost certainly not, however as a way of putting a little by each month, it as certainly a good way to save.

 

The returns are not as good as the best ISAs or savings accounts, unless you are better than we were at picking investments, but the educational and informative side of the process is well worth a little risk.

 

I would reiterate that shar prices can go up as well as down, and as with any gamble, this has to be with money that you can afford to lose, or at least keep tied up for a number of years.

 

 

Regards

Ian

 

Chairman (Retd ) PANIC ( the Pough AfterNoon Investmet Club)

 

PS Very glad not to have been Chairman of the Plough EveNing Investment Society.

[Tim Chambers]

One further bit of advice(which I ignored and lost a considerable sum of money) is to set your price at which you will buy and more importantly when to sell and STICK TO IT!It is very tempting when selling to hope for just that wee bit more but.........