Jasmine Birtles
Your money-making expert. Financial journalist, TV and radio personality.
Webinar Summary: How to Invest in Stocks and Shares like a pro!
Isobel Lawrance
17th Dec 2021
Our founder and CEO Jasmine Birtles recently hosted a free webinar all about how DIY investors can pick stocks and shares like a pro. She was joined by Eyal Perry, founder of Aurora, the kind sponsors of this webinar, together with Justin Urquhardt-Stewart, who set up 7 Investments and Barclays Stockbrokers, and Bill Kay, former business editor of the Sunday Times and current investment columnist for the Times.
They discuss the best funds and companies to invest in, and how to do it like a pro! You can also read about our sponsors Aurora below.
You can watch the webinar and read the written summary below.
- What is your biggest piece of advice for new investors?
- Do you think more people should become DIY Investors?
- What to look for in a company you want to invest in
- What about Sharia-compliant stocks and shares?
- What is a dividend?
- What to look for in investment platforms
- How can you diversify your portfolio?
What is your biggest piece of advice for new investors?
Justin says:
- Always ask questions, there’s no such thing as stupid questions
- Educate yourself as much as you can
- Learn what shares are like, how you can trade, whether you can trade certain assets and how much it costs, how the market works, who the participants are and where the holes and dangers are
- Put a little bit of money aside every month, maybe £50 or £60
- Start an investing club with some friends and all put your money in together
Do you think more people should become DIY investors?
Eyal says:
- Everyone can choose to become an investor, whether they do it themselves or through an advisor
- People can take control of their financial future with knowledge, education and confidence
- Digital investment tools, platforms and social media allow people to both invest for themselves and control and challenge their advisors
- The technology is out there – not only to manage a portfolio but get the analysis previously only available to financial institutions
- At Aurora, we make high-level analysis available to everyone
What to look for in a company you want to invest in
Bill says:
- It depends what you are after as an individual investor
- You have to know yourself to know which risks to take and know the risks you are comfortable with
- Don’t force yourself into something you have been told to do or think you should do
What about Sharia-compliant stocks and shares?
Justin says:
- It mainly depends on interpretation, and depends on how strictly you interpret it
What is a dividend?
Bill says:
- If a company makes profit, and their net profit is divided between investors
- It is distributed between share holders
Justin says:
- Dividends are a very important part of your investment
- Compounding dividends is how you see your money grow
What to look for in investment platforms
Justin says:
- Be aware of any charges and hidden costs they may have
- Platforms are constantly changing
- Compare and contrast platforms and work out which is best for you in terms of what you get from them and their costs
How can you diversify your portfolio?
Justin says:
- Look at different asset classes
- Asset classes are different things you can invest in such as bonds, shares, commodities, property and even cash
- Different asset classes have different modes of behaviour, so it’s a good idea to have a spread of them
Eyal says:
- You can now invest globally and with different currencies, which is a good way to diversify a portfolio
- There are many interesting funds outside of the UK
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