The part-time Traders dilemma

Wednesday, 6th May 2009 16:26 - by Resident IFA

I had a conversation with a business contact this morning, and he mentioned that he was using lse.co.uk and spending far too much time on the Share Chat pages...when he should be running his window and conservatory firm! It was great to hear his feedback as, at least from his point of view, it seems lse.co.uk is providing him with a useful and enjoyable experience. He is a lovely chap who is thinking of dabbling in shares. Perhaps not as a Day-Trader, more a case of him holding shares for weeks to months in the hope of turning a profit. We covered areas from RBS and Barclays through to Northern Rock (gulp!) and back again. One key concept that he clearly realised was the idea of not risking too much...the old maxim of ‘Don’t invest what you can’t afford to lose’. Another thing he said which I liked and bodes well is the idea of re-investing profits to help let his share trading account ‘build’ naturally. I try to employ the same rationale to the odd share I dabble in, it currently working reasonably well. This all supposes that we can buy shares wisely and make a profit! I recommended he attend a Naked Trader course as money well spent and a great learning experience for beginners. I can see that the £500 or thereabouts you pay could well be repaid quickly in understanding good buying signs/techniques and pitfalls to avoid. I am interested to see how he gets on. Perhaps he should invest £5.75 per month (shameless plug!) on subscribing to lse.co.uk’s Premium Chat service? Already, we are seeing some high-calibre insights from the likes of GedW, Moosh, ParanoiaBlue, boredmum, and keepitsimple. If our advertisers annoy you, there is also a ‘No Ads’ service for the same cost. If I get any trading updates from my contact/golfing buddy mentioned above, I will be sure to let you know. If you have any experiences to share of your early trading shenanigans, success stories, pitfalls, etc. please leave a comment below. Happy trading...or ‘Good luck all’ as they say on the chat boards! Until next time...