# Stock market



## 50spence (Sep 22, 2015)

Does anyone here play on the stock market? 

Been trading with fake money for about 6 months had some great ups and some big downs. 

Did have a free £25 account that I got up to £400 but then made a really silly decision and blew it lol! 

Anyone else trading?


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## staffordian (May 2, 2012)

IMHO the only way to win on the stock market long term is to buy shares in large high quality companies and keep them more or less indefinitely.

Trading is a mugs game as you can't compete with the big boys and their millisecond trading abilities. It's gambling, pure and simple, but with trading costs and stamp duty to find.

There is scope for making money from small companies which the pros don't investigate as thoroughly as they do the FTSE350 companies, but it involves a huge amount of research and still needs a fair slice of luck!

I buy shares in top companies which pay reasonable dividends, and I then ignore the share price. The dividends tend to be far less volatile than the share price and they generally rise above inflation. With a portfolio of 15-20 shares, the odd duff one doesn't matter too much as there will be some which do better than average.

I've followed this strategy for the best part of 15 years and it's the only share holding strategy which let's me sleep easy at night without worrying about what the market might do


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## 50spence (Sep 22, 2015)

I tend to swing and go short on most stuff but only really deal in commodities and currencies. However energy is a bit hit or miss at the moment. 

To be fair I just don't have enough experience yet but I feel calling it gambling is a bit harsh! The answers are out there you just need to find them to be able to make the right decisions.


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## justina3 (Jan 11, 2008)

I went to local trading days back in the day, but was fed up of not being in control of my money so carried on selling cars.


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## staffordian (May 2, 2012)

50spence said:


> To be fair I just don't have enough experience yet but I feel calling it gambling is a bit harsh! The answers are out there you just need to find them to be able to make the right decisions.


The way I see it, most fund managers underperform over time compared to an Index Tracker, and if they can't win over the long term with the resources they have, and the contacts etc, how can a private investor hope to? Yes, the answers might be out there, but by the time you find them, the pros will have found them acted on them and walked away with any profit from the knowledge before you can press the "buy" button.

Anyone might have a good run, maybe for quite some time, but I think 99% of people will end up poorer by trading.

Nothing personal, sorry if it came across that way ☺


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## 50spence (Sep 22, 2015)

No nothing personal as I have had my own reasons not to carry on, but I put it down to inexperience. If you look around there are some receiving a 500% return which I have achieved myself. But lost it lol!


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## Tjbakewell (Jan 28, 2016)

The stock market is crazy, when I get large sums of money I like to invest it in to my own ventures. Feels like I have more control (based on effort). The stock market isnt for me, but I do like a good investment!


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## Tricky Red (Mar 3, 2007)

I used to trade a bit, but if I look at some of the shares that I have sold at a profit now, I would have just about made the same amount of money by keeping my original portfolio. 

I tend to lock into solid well known stocks now and reinvest the dividends.


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