Disclaimer

This article is for general information and educational purposes only. It does not constitute investment advice, a personal recommendation, or a financial promotion within the meaning of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000

Readers should make their own independent assessment and where appropriate seek advice from an FCA authorised advisor.

Choose Your Online Platform Provider

This is probably the key step on your Investment Journey. There are many providers to choose from some of whom I listed earlier. The most practical way of starting out is to make yourself a shortlist by going onto various platform sites and checking them out. They will probably have both a Savings and Investment drop down menu so study both.

Under Investment look at the types of securities, they offer for trading e.g. funds, ETF’s, and equity. Does what they offer meet your requirements?

Look at the free research they provide as a service on these products. Is it easy to access and read. Does it give you the information you want? Does it allow you to compare say funds in any sector for their historical growth and yield returns.

What are their charges for trades and custody of your holdings? Do they offer a regular investment buying facility for funds? Check out minimum fund purchases through your provider. Likely to be £100 for ad hoc trades or £25 through a monthly savings scheme.

How easy is it to place trades on their platform and how quick is settlement for these transactions?

Savings We will look at this whole area in another series but check that you’re your platform offers online savings and cash ISAs .

Set up your account Your new account will be linked to your bank account. Your provider will also need your National Insurance Number as well as your name and address. You will be asked to set up a username and password and possibly register a number which will also form part of the login process. Two-part identification is now in common use. This will be sent to your registered mobile each time you log in.

Once you have set up your platform account you can then move on to choosing your investment vehicle.

Choose your tax efficient Investment Vehicle(s)  Many people start tax free investing with a Stocks and Shares ISA. This is probably the easiest way of starting out and allows you to learn how your platform operates. There should be no minimum investment amount.

At a later stage you might then add a SIPP, if it is appropriate for you. Junior Stocks and Shares ISAs should also be available on your platform.

Create your first Portfolio. Your objective is to minimise your  risk as you learn how to invest and use the platform you have selected. Consider and decide.

1.How much you want to invest for the tax year and how much per month. The minimum fund purchase is usually £100 per transaction, with no minimum for equity or ETF trades.

2. Research any funds that you might invest in via your provider’s platform and whether these are funds should be ‘trackers’ or ‘managed’.

3. Decide on buying either ‘income’ or ‘accumulation’ units of any equity funds or a combination of both.

5. Many people keep their initial portfolio to under ten funds to limit their initial research and risk.

6. More experienced investors may decide to invest in Exchange Traded Funds (ETF’s), equity, or a combination of these and funds.