Share/Investment advice

[nirvana]

It's ok to apply just on the Royal Mail Gov site isn't it?  That's what I did.

Ha, sure that's fine but too simple for me to notice :-)

[Dry em]

Doobs, I see what you saying, although you are still not losing money on your initial investment with Premium Bonds, you are just not necessarily making the most.

The issues with the mortgage is that what do you do if your house price plummets and you wake up in negative equity? and what if you need access to the £30k immediately as I think Scotty said he wanted.

Good thing with Premium Bonds, available immediately, never lose value and CHANCE of scooping big. Bad thing is they are likely not to produce the biggest yield on your investment.

Glad to see you have some though. Such a degen.

Yeah, but you are losing money, you are losing £810 on average from just paying off the mortgage.  You'd expect to do worse if the comparison was investing in shares.  And though you say you don't lose money, inflation is going to get you for 3% or so too, so your 30k is going to be worth less when you take it out.  You'd be very fortunate to not lose money.

The chance of scooping big really is so small as to render it meaningless (45 billion to 1 is really really small).  

What I mostly do is try and pay the mortgage down and try and max the shares ISA.  Some years are easier than others.

Ryan shouldn't consider a pension yet because of his tax status.

If you have time could you elaborate on the Pension comment?

[tikay]

Doobs, I see what you saying, although you are still not losing money on your initial investment with Premium Bonds, you are just not necessarily making the most.

The issues with the mortgage is that what do you do if your house price plummets and you wake up in negative equity? and what if you need access to the £30k immediately as I think Scotty said he wanted.

Good thing with Premium Bonds, available immediately, never lose value and CHANCE of scooping big. Bad thing is they are likely not to produce the biggest yield on your investment.

Glad to see you have some though. Such a degen.

Yeah, but you are losing money, you are losing £810 on average from just paying off the mortgage.  You'd expect to do worse if the comparison was investing in shares.  And though you say you don't lose money, inflation is going to get you for 3% or so too, so your 30k is going to be worth less when you take it out.  You'd be very fortunate to not lose money.

The chance of scooping big really is so small as to render it meaningless (45 billion to 1 is really really small).  

What I mostly do is try and pay the mortgage down and try and max the shares ISA.  Some years are easier than others.

Ryan shouldn't consider a pension yet because of his tax status.

If you have time could you elaborate on the Pension comment?

Come into a bit of money have you, Karl?

PS - Very well done. Was hoping you'd get the lot.

[Doobs]

Doobs, I see what you saying, although you are still not losing money on your initial investment with Premium Bonds, you are just not necessarily making the most.

The issues with the mortgage is that what do you do if your house price plummets and you wake up in negative equity? and what if you need access to the £30k immediately as I think Scotty said he wanted.

Good thing with Premium Bonds, available immediately, never lose value and CHANCE of scooping big. Bad thing is they are likely not to produce the biggest yield on your investment.

Glad to see you have some though. Such a degen.

Yeah, but you are losing money, you are losing £810 on average from just paying off the mortgage.  You'd expect to do worse if the comparison was investing in shares.  And though you say you don't lose money, inflation is going to get you for 3% or so too, so your 30k is going to be worth less when you take it out.  You'd be very fortunate to not lose money.

The chance of scooping big really is so small as to render it meaningless (45 billion to 1 is really really small).  

What I mostly do is try and pay the mortgage down and try and max the shares ISA.  Some years are easier than others.

Ryan shouldn't consider a pension yet because of his tax status.

If you have time could you elaborate on the Pension comment?

Probably got more time now than in the morning.  I'd say contributing to a pension when a non tax payer isn't really any better than as a basic rate tax payer.  The Government gives you some tax relief on the way in, and taxes you on the way out.  It is more complex than that because of tax free lump sums, interaction with benefits and the chance you could get taxed more on the way out etc.

The biggest beneficiaries are this people who pay top rate tax on the way in, basic rate on the way out.  That way your tax relief is a much more likely benefit.  I think someone like Ryan should be hoping he pays top rate tax in the future or gets a job where his employer contributes to the pension, and then considers paying in to a pension.  

This isn't saying he shouldn't save or pay off the mortgage, just there is a good chance he will find a better situation in the future to contribute to a pension than the one he finds himself currently.

[Dry em]

Doobs, I see what you saying, although you are still not losing money on your initial investment with Premium Bonds, you are just not necessarily making the most.

The issues with the mortgage is that what do you do if your house price plummets and you wake up in negative equity? and what if you need access to the £30k immediately as I think Scotty said he wanted.

Good thing with Premium Bonds, available immediately, never lose value and CHANCE of scooping big. Bad thing is they are likely not to produce the biggest yield on your investment.

Glad to see you have some though. Such a degen.

Yeah, but you are losing money, you are losing £810 on average from just paying off the mortgage.  You'd expect to do worse if the comparison was investing in shares.  And though you say you don't lose money, inflation is going to get you for 3% or so too, so your 30k is going to be worth less when you take it out.  You'd be very fortunate to not lose money.

The chance of scooping big really is so small as to render it meaningless (45 billion to 1 is really really small).  

What I mostly do is try and pay the mortgage down and try and max the shares ISA.  Some years are easier than others.

Ryan shouldn't consider a pension yet because of his tax status.

If you have time could you elaborate on the Pension comment?

Probably got more time now than in the morning.  I'd say contributing to a pension when a non tax payer isn't really any better than as a basic rate tax payer.  The Government gives you some tax relief on the way in, and taxes you on the way out.  It is more complex than that because of tax free lump sums, interaction with benefits and the chance you could get taxed more on the way out etc.

The biggest beneficiaries are this people who pay top rate tax on the way in, basic rate on the way out.  That way your tax relief is a much more likely benefit.  I think someone like Ryan should be hoping he pays top rate tax in the future or gets a job where his employer contributes to the pension, and then considers paying in to a pension.  

This isn't saying he shouldn't save or pay off the mortgage, just there is a good chance he will find a better situation in the future to contribute to a pension than the one he finds himself currently.

Thanks a lot

Ha Tikay - unfortunately I missed out on the pension ladder this time but it is something I've thought about before

[exstream]

Some advice needed.
Bought some shares for the first time ever, impulse buy, bought £750 worth of Royal Mail shares.
Intend to quick sell with strike coming up this year and letter posting on the decline, although parcels booming.
How and when and where and what etc etc do I sell?!

I don't have a broker...

[redsimon]

Some advice needed.
Bought some shares for the first time ever, impulse buy, bought £750 worth of Royal Mail shares.
Intend to quick sell with strike coming up this year and letter posting on the decline, although parcels booming.
How and when and where and what etc etc do I sell?!

I don't have a broker...

You wont know till Friday whether you have "bought" these. Where did you buy them? You normally can sell them through the same body you purchased them, costs vary obviously. (See earlier posts in thread)

Don't use gov site if you have access to a broker account that makes purchase possible.

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/investing/article-2446479/Its-robbery-Royal-Mail-share-buyers-face-big-choose-sell-Governments-dedicated-website.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/shares/10360215/Royal-Mail-shares-How-to-buy-at-the-last-minute.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/10340710/Royal-Mail-privatisation-shares-A-list-of-stockbrokers-and-their-costs.html

[exstream]

Yeah, applied for them sorry.
Purchased through gov site as had 10 mins lol.

[paulhouk03]

They taken money out my acc

[Doobs]

They taken money out my acc

Bastards did that when I went to the supermarket the other day.

[redsimon]

They taken money out my acc

level?

You get to trade them on Tuesday afaik

[Doobs]

The Royal Mail offer is 7 x oversubscribed, which means that the average person should get less than £1000 worth of shares.  This assumes they don't take any from institutions or give the really big applicants zero.

[kano]

Scotty, go and see someone who is qualified to give you advice on this stuff.  You will get a free hour+ chat with any decent IFA, ask around people you know locally for a recommendation.

If you want to have a go yourself, I would stay away from individual stock picking. Research building a diversified portfolio of index funds, keep an eye on the expense ratios!

Royal Mail shares are a punt, simply that, I would steer clear.

[BorntoBubble]

Not much experience in this field at all but reading from afar...

If royal mail shares are 7x over subscribed surely the price is to low therefore once they go on the open market the price will go up? - or is this to simple thinking

[Doobs]

Not much experience in this field at all but reading from afar...

If royal mail shares are 7x over subscribed surely the price is to low therefore once they go on the open market the price will go up? - or is this to simple thinking

Nope, seems fine to me.  Telling people to steer clear of an expected profit on a gambling website seems a little on the cautious side.