Always remember that investments can go down as well as up in value, so you could get back less than you put in. A rule of thumb is to hang on to your investments for at least five years to give them the best chance of providing the returns you want.
Contents:
The best trading apps in the UK are eToro, Freetrade, and Interactive Investor. These are easy-to-use, low-cost mobile apps for trading shares, ETFs, and other investment products.
Scroll down for a detailed review of each app and to discover our top ten trading apps. We’ve carefully curated the best apps for buying, selling and holding stocks and shares, bonds, index funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), exchange-traded commodities (ETCs), real estate investment trusts (REITs), contracts for difference (CFDs), and other trading products.
Please remember that when you trade, your capital is at risk. ISA, pension, and tax rules also apply.
The trading apps listed below are authorised and regulated by the UK’s financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Here are the best trading apps in the UK:
eToro is a multi-asset trading platform that offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs. With eToro, UK traders have real-time access to thousands of stocks, ETFs, indices, commodities, forex, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs from top exchanges worldwide. Catering to beginners and expert traders, eToro provides an impressive range of fundamental and technical analysis tools, including market news, economic data, social media trends, news sentiment trends, and advanced charting tools. ProCharts, a professional-grade technical analysis tool available on eToro, allows users to compare charts from different financial instruments and time frames. eToro also offers risk management tools, such as Stop Loss, Take Profit, and Trailing Stop Loss, to help you better manage your positions and protect your investments.
For customers who prefer ready-made investment portfolios, eToro has over 40 fully allocated, balanced investment portfolios, focusing on market segments you can understand and relate to. Some of the portfolios include MetaverseLife, BigTech, GoldWorldWide, Vaccine-Med, BitcoinWorldWide, Diabetes-Med, Driverless, and GigEconomy. These portfolios are a grouping of several assets, such as stocks, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, and even people, bundled together based on a predetermined theme or strategy. eToro also offers Copy Trading, a unique feature that allows everyday investors to copy the trades or investments of top-performing traders on the eToro platform. Anyone can copy trades on eToro; likewise, anyone can give others access to copy their trades. If you are an expert trader approved to participate in eToro’s Popular Investor Program, where others copy your trades, you will be eligible to receive monthly earnings.
It is entirely free to open an account with eToro, and all registered users receive a US$100,000 demo account for free, which you can use to practise trading until you become confident. Trading on eToro occurs in USD, so a currency conversion fee will apply if you deposit or withdraw in a currency other than USD. Withdrawals incur a fee of US$5 (£4), and the minimum withdrawal amount is US$30 (£24). For UK customers, eToro offers an eToro Money app that allows you to convert your GBP to USD free of charge, thereby reducing your foreign exchange costs. eToro does not offer an ISA or SIPP.
Please note: Your capital is at risk. 80 - 90% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. Additionally, cryptoassets are highly volatile and unregulated in the UK. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply. Copy Trading does not amount to investment advice. Other fees apply. For more information, visit eToro.
Freetrade is a mobile trading app that gives you access to thousands of UK and overseas stocks, ETFs, REITs, and investment trusts covering different sectors and markets worldwide. The Freetrade app can be accessed on iOS, Android and desktop devices and offers a slick and easy-to-use user interface and experience. The app is a great choice for both beginners and experienced investors.
With Freetrade, you can invest in fractional shares of even the most expensive US shares with as little as £2. Depositing, trading and withdrawing on Freetrade are commission-free (other charges may apply). FX rates apply to US stocks at the spot rate + 0.99%. To get the most out of Freetrade, you can choose from three subscription plans. The Basic Plan costs £0.00 per month and allows you to open a General Investment Account (GIA) and trade commission-free. The Standard Plan costs £5.99 per month and allows you to open a Stocks and Shares ISA in addition to your GIA. With the Plus Plan at £11.99 a month, you get a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) and a Stocks and Shares ISA in addition to your GIA. Dealing on Freetrade is commission-free, irrespective of the subscription plan you choose. Freetrade’s suite of products includes a Stocks and Shares ISA, General Investment Account (GIA) and SIPP.
Promo: Get a free share worth £10 when you join Freetrade and fund your account with at least £50.
Please note: When you invest, your capital is at risk. The value of your investments can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. ISA rules apply. SIPP eligibility and tax rules apply. Free share terms and conditions apply.
Interactive Investor is a subsidiary of wealth management giant Abrdn and the second-largest investment platform in the country. Also well known for its fixed monthly subscription fees (as opposed to annual percentage-based fees like most other investment platforms), Interactive Investor has been providing investment services and financial information to UK customers since 1995.
If you choose to invest with Interactive Investor, you will gain access to over 40,000 investment options, including UK and overseas shares, funds, investment trusts, and ETFs. This is the second-widest choice of UK and international investments offered by an investment platform in the UK. Interactive Investor allows you to build your portfolio in multiple ways depending on your investment goals, attitude to risk and personal preferences. Beginner investors or those who prefer ready-made investments can build their portfolios using Interactive Investor’s Quick-Start Funds, an easy way to start investing where you choose from six low-cost funds prepared by the team of experts at Interactive Investor. Advanced or more confident investors can choose from a wide range of funds and shares and build their portfolios themselves. Interactive Investor gives you access to 17 global stock exchanges, including exchanges in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. These include markets such as the FTSE 100, FTSE 250, FTSE All-Share, S&P 500, NASDAQ, NYSE, Dow Jones and more. In addition to the above, Interactive Investor offers Japanese, Indian and Chinese shares in the form of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs).
Interactive Investor gives you a free trade every month, which you can use to buy or sell any investment. After that, trades usually cost £3.99. For those investing £50,000 or less, you can sign up for the cheapest plan (Investor Essentials), which costs only £4.99 a month but does not come with the monthly free trade. The platform also offers a free regular investing service that allows you to deposit as little as £25 a month towards your investments without paying a trading fee each time, irrespective of the plan you choose. Interactive Investor also has lots of expert ideas, research and insights, which can be helpful when selecting investments. Interactive Investor’s suite of products includes a Trading Account, Stocks and Shares ISA, SIPP and Junior ISA.
Capital at risk.
XTB is a user-friendly, fully-customisable European trading platform renowned for its extensive CFD and forex trading offerings. XTB provides traders instant access to hundreds of global markets and over 5,600 instruments, including UK and overseas stocks and shares, ETFs, forex, indices, commodities, stock CFDs, and ETF CFDs.
With XTB, you can trade using the in-house trading software, xStation, or via MetaTrader 4 (MT4). xStation by XTB is a powerful trading software available on iOS, Android and desktop devices and suitable for both beginners and advanced traders. The xStation software gives you access to comprehensive charting and risk management tools. With the inbuilt trading calculator, you can easily estimate costs, profits or losses before opening a position, modify stop loss and take profit orders directly on the chart or close all positions with a click of a button. XTB also provides an extensive library of educational materials, including videos, webinars, and courses suitable for both beginners and experienced traders. When you sign up, you will have access to a dedicated account officer who will work with you to help you better understand your needs and how XTB operates.
It is free to open a trading account with XTB, and all users have access to a free demo account with £100,000 in virtual funds that you can use to practise trading and investing until you become confident enough to use real money. Deposits in GBP and EUR are free of charge, but withdrawals below £60 have a £12 processing fee. Real stock trading is commission-free for monthly turnovers up to €100,000 (£85,000). Transactions above this limit will attract a commission of 0.2% (minimum €10 (£8.50). Stock and ETF CFD trading are also commission-free. Spreads and margins apply to other products. Inactive accounts attract a monthly fee of €10 (£9). Other fees apply. For more information, visit XTB. XTB does not offer an ISA or SIPP.
Please note: Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are leveraged products and carry a significant risk of loss to your capital, as prices may move rapidly against you, and you may be required to make further payments to keep any trades open. Between 74 and 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. These products are not suitable for all clients. Therefore, please ensure you fully understand the risks and seek independent advice.
InvestEngine is a low-cost ETF investment platform that provides a choice of managed portfolios tailored to you and commission-free DIY investing to help you build long-term wealth. Users can invest in over 500 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from leading global asset managers.
With InvestEngine, you can invest in two ways depending on your tolerance for risk and savviness as an investor: beginner investors or those who prefer a ready-made investment portfolio can select from one of the managed portfolios on offer, where the team of experts at InvestEngine will take care of the day-to-day investment decisions for you. These portfolios are a selection of ETFs based on your preferences and risk tolerance. Once you’ve selected one, you do not have to do anything else besides monitor the performance of your investments. Advanced or more confident investors can choose from 500+ commission-free ETFs and build their portfolios themselves. InvestEngine also offers fractional investing, which allows you to buy bits and pieces of an ETF with as little as £1. This enhances your ability to build a diversified portfolio even if you have a small amount of money to invest. With the DIY Portfolio, there are no platform fees. However, the managed portfolios attract a fee of 0.25% per year. All InvestEngine portfolios are free of set-up fees, dealing fees, ISA subscription fees or withdrawal fees.
InvestEngine stands out amongst its competitors as one of the cheapest trading platforms in the UK because it charges no platform or management fees on its DIY Portfolio and just 0.25% a year on its managed portfolio. You can also start investing with as little as £100. InvestEngine’s suite of products includes a Stocks and Shares ISA, Personal Account and Business Account.
Capital at risk.
Founded by ex-Wise (TransferWise) employees, Lightyear is a new low-cost pan-European investing app on a mission to provide everyone friction-free access to the international financial markets. With Lightyear, you can invest in over 3,500 UK and overseas stocks and ETFs and access real-time market data and live news while managing your investments in multi-currency accounts. The Lightyear multi-currency accounts allow you to earn competitive interest on uninvested cash in pounds sterling, euros, and US dollars and save on foreign exchange costs by holding your investments in their local currencies. Users can have balances in all three currencies at the same time, and there is no fee for opening a multi-currency account.
The Lightyear mobile app, available on iOS and Android devices, is simple yet powerful. Users can access market updates, professional analyst ratings and price targets via a clean and user-friendly interface. You can also tune in to earning calls directly from your mobile phone or web browser and enjoy keeping up-to-date with the latest happenings about the stocks you own or follow.
Opening an account with Lightyear is free, and you can start building a portfolio with as little as you are comfortable with. Dealing UK, US, and EU shares cost £1, 0.1% (up to $1 max), and €1 per order, respectively. There is no dealing charge for trading ETFs. However, a 0.35% FX fee applies when converting one currency to another. Lightyear also charges a 0.5% transfer fee when depositing with your card (after exhausting the free £500 lifetime allowance). However, there are other means of depositing funds that are completely free. Other fees may apply. Lightyear does not offer an ISA or SIPP.
Capital at risk.
Moneybox is a UK investment app that allows you to invest in a range of tracker funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), exchange-traded commodities (ETCs) and US stocks. Moneybox offers two forms of investing depending on your investing savviness, investing strategy and attitude to risk. Beginner investors or those who prefer a ready-made portfolio can choose from the three ready-made portfolios on offer - Cautious (lower risk), Balanced (medium risk) and Adventurous (higher risk). Advanced or more confident investors can pick from the range of tracker funds, ETFs, ETCs and US stocks available and build their portfolios themselves.
The Moneybox app also empowers you to invest your spare change by rounding up your card transactions to the nearest pound and investing the difference on your behalf. For example, if you spend £2.30 on a snack, Moneybox will invest 70p for you. You can also instruct the app to make weekly or one-off deposits into your investment portfolio as it rounds up your spare change.
You can start investing with Moneybox with as little as £1. Moneybox offers commission-free trading on US stocks. However, fund management fees apply to other types of investments, ranging from 0.12% to 0.61% per annum. A currency conversion fee of 0.45% also applies to US stocks. Moneybox also charges an annual platform fee of 0.45% and a monthly subscription fee of £1 (you get the first three months free). Moneybox’s suite of products includes a Stocks and Shares ISA, Lifetime ISA, Junior ISA, Personal Pension, and General Investment Account.
Capital at risk.
AJ Bell is one of the UK’s largest online investment platforms, and its mission is to make investing as easy as possible for anyone. The platform offers thousands of investment options for the DIY investor, including shares, funds, bonds, investment trusts, ETFs, ETCs, and warrants.
There are multiple ways to get started with AJ Bell, depending on your risk tolerance and investing savviness. Beginner investors or those who prefer to choose a ready-made investment portfolio can get a little, or a lot, of help from AJ Bell’s specialists by selecting one of the investment ideas on offer. Investment ideas are diversified ready-made baskets of investments that you can select based on your personal preference and attitude to risk. There are eight total investment ideas, each built by a specialist team, and you can pick the right one for you depending on whether you are seeking to simply grow your money over time or receive an income whilst still growing your money. Expert investors can take advantage of the stock and fund screeners and complex instruments available on AJ Bell and build their portfolios themselves.
AJ Bell charges an annual platform fee ranging from 0.25% to 0%, depending on the size of your portfolio. Dealing fees for buying and selling investments online are £1.50 for funds and £9.95 for shares (reducing to £4.95 if there were 10 or more online share deals in the previous month). AJ Bell’s products include a Share Dealing Account, Stocks and Shares ISA, Junior Stocks and Shares ISA, Lifetime ISA, SIPP and Junior SIPP.
Capital at risk.
Hargreaves Lansdown, a FTSE 100 company and the UK’s largest investment platform, is one of the best share dealing accounts in the UK. Although not the cheapest, it compensates with unrivalled stock research and trading tools, prioritising long-term client relationships and financial security. There is almost no stock, fund or investment trust you cannot find on Hargreaves Lansdown, along with detailed information on fund composition, performance data and advanced charting. With Hargreaves Lansdown, you can access over 15,000 instruments, encompassing over 2,500 funds, UK and overseas shares, bonds, ETFs, ETCs, investment trusts and more.
With Hargreaves Lansdown, you can build your investment portfolio in three ways. You can pick your own investments to match your values and goals, select ready-made portfolios, or pay a financial adviser to choose investments for you. The ready-made portfolios can be used as all-in-one investments. Pick one from the different risk levels, and you are good to go. You will still have to monitor your portfolio as with any other investment. If you pay for financial advice, the specialist investment adviser will recommend a suitable portfolio of investments for your goals and ensure that your portfolio is cost-effective, well-balanced, diversified, and ideal for your stage in life. Advanced or more confident investors who want to pick their own investments can choose from a wide range of funds, shares and other investments and build their portfolios themselves.
Hargreaves Lansdown does not charge a platform fee on its Fund and Share Account but charges 0.45% (capped at £45) a year on its ISA and 0.45% (capped at £200) a year on its SIPP. It offers most products, including a Fund and Share Account, Stocks and Shares ISA, Lifetime ISA, Junior ISA, and SIPP. These services are intended for investors who are happy making their own decisions.
Please note: Your capital is at risk. The fees quoted here are not exhaustive. Other charges apply.
Saxo Markets is the UK division of Saxo Bank, a large European bank that allows you to invest in 71,000+ financial products from stock markets worldwide. With Saxo Markets, you can invest in UK and overseas stocks and shares, bonds, ETFs, forex, CFDs, futures, commodities and options.
Saxo Markets allows you to invest in one of two ways depending on your investing savviness: Beginner investors or those who prefer to choose a ready-made portfolio can select from one of the managed portfolios on offer where Saxo experts navigate the markets and manage your investments on your behalf. The average cost of this managed portfolio is 0.95% per year (including fund costs). Advanced or more confident investors can choose from the range of financial products on offer and build their portfolios themselves. Saxo Markets traders benefit from extensive charting with 50+ technical indicators, integrated trade signals, news feeds and risk-management features via the SaxoTraderGO platform. Advanced traders can access even more sophisticated trading features on SaxoTraderPRO, Saxo Bank’s desktop-only advanced trading platform.
Saxo Markets has different transaction fees grouped into trading tiers. If you plan to trade high volumes, you can upgrade your tier to get lower transaction fees. The Classic tier, which attracts the highest trading fees, costs 0.10% (min. £8) per deal for UK Stocks and US$0.02 (min. US$10) per deal for US Stocks. Other fees apply. Saxo Markets’ suite of products includes a Trading Account, Stocks and Shares ISA and SIPP.
Please note: Capital at risk. 65% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
A share is a unit of ownership in a public company. When you buy a share, you own a small unit of a public company.
For example, if you buy a share in Apple Inc., you will become a part-owner of Apple. If Apple performs well, you will benefit from its success. If it does not, you may lose some money.
Companies issue shares to raise money to fund their activities. People invest in shares to benefit from the successes of companies they believe in.
You may also come across the word stock or equity. In most situations, stocks, equities and shares refer to the same thing. Stocks could also mean all your shares in one or more companies.
People invest in stocks and shares because they can be a great way to grow money over time and can offer higher long-term returns than leaving your money in a savings or current account.
There are five keys ways you could benefit from investing in stocks and shares:
Stock trading or share dealing refers to buying and selling shares in publicly listed companies.
Publicly listed companies are companies listed on a stock exchange, such as the London Stock Exchange or the New York Stock Exchange.
To trade shares in the UK, you need to open a stock trading account with a trading app or stockbroker. You can also use an Individual Savings Account (ISA), General Investment Account (GIA) or Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) to trade shares.
There are two ways to trade stocks in the UK. You can either trade stocks directly (called direct investment) or use leverage (called margin or leveraged trading).
Direct investment involves buying stocks directly from a stockbroker or as part of a mutual fund.
You can buy individual company shares directly through a stockbroker. Investing in stocks in this way means that you are taking direct ownership of a company’s shares, making you eligible to vote at shareholder meetings and receive dividend payments. Investing in individual stocks and shares is one of the most common ways to invest in the stock market.
The first opportunity you will have to invest in shares is when the shares are created and offered to the public for the first time. This is called an Initial Public Offering (IPO) or ‘Going Public.’ Companies go public to raise money to fund their activities.
Once shares are created, they can be bought or sold on the stock exchange. This is called the secondary market because it comes after the IPO. The price of shares at IPO is typically determined by the underwriter of the IPO, usually a large bank. After the IPO, the share price is determined by changes in supply and demand.
You can participate in IPOs or join the secondary market via an online stock trading app or stockbroker. The best trading apps in the UK will allow you to invest in stocks via the secondary market with as little or as much as you feel comfortable with. Most apps will accept an initial investment of less than £25, while others might allow you to start trading with £1. Trading apps or stockbrokers that give you direct access to an IPO might require a higher initial deposit. Stockbrokers offer three types of services: execution-only, advisory and discretionary.
Another way to invest directly in stocks and shares is through mutual funds. A fund is a diverse basket of shares, bonds or other assets representing a country, industry, index or theme. Examples of funds include index funds, active funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Funds save you the trouble of buying shares in multiple companies or worrying about building a diversified portfolio. They are also safer and cheaper than buying individual stocks since you share the risks and costs with other investors. Most people, including experienced investors, use funds when investing.
Margin trading is the use of borrowed money to buy stocks, forex, commodities, indices and other markets. It is also called leveraged trading. When trading on margin, the trading app or stockbroker will loan you the total value of the trade, requiring only a small deposit as collateral. This deposit is called a margin.
Because of the loan given to you by the broker, your profits can be magnified when trading on margin, as you can trade much larger amounts than you would with your own money. However, in the same way that your profits can be magnified, your losses can also be magnified, and you could lose all you invested.
Leveraged products allow you to take a long or short position in a financial market. If you believe the price of an asset will go up, you buy (or go ‘long’). Similarly, if you think the price of an asset will go down, you sell (or go ‘short’).
There are several ways to trade on margin in the UK, including via contracts for difference (CFDs), forex, options, spread bets, and futures.
Beginners can trade stocks in the UK with trading apps such as eToro, Freetrade, and Interactive Investor.
Trading stocks can be a profitable or unrewarding experience depending on your level of trading knowledge and investing savviness, so it is vital that you understand how it works, including the potential risks and rewards, before venturing into it.
Follow the steps below to learn how to trade stocks:
Deciding what shares to buy can be intimidating for the first-time investor or trader, but it doesn’t have to be. Below, we’ve summarised our top ten stock-picking methods for newbie traders.
Follow the steps below to learn how to pick stocks:
The first step to picking stocks is to determine and set clear goals for your portfolio. You need to ask yourself why you are trading stocks and state clearly what you hope to achieve.
There are three key goals to consider, and you can focus on just one, two or a combination of all three. When picking stocks, you need to ask yourself if you are in it to:
Your goal determines your eventual investment strategy. For example, if your trading goal is to generate a regular income, you might be interested in dividend stocks, such as low-growth company stocks in the utility sector. You might also consider bonds and real estate investment trusts (REITs).
A trader whose goal is wealth preservation is naturally risk averse and might prefer to invest in stable blue-chip company stocks. These include stocks on indices such as the Dow 30, S&P 500 or the FTSE 100.
Similarly, traders looking to grow wealth might focus on small to mid-cap stocks in their early growth years with promising financials and technicals. These types of stocks are usually riskier than their large-cap counterparts as they tend to be less liquid.
To become an excellent trader, you must constantly research the markets and keep on top of the technicals and fundamentals of each stock you are trading.
The best places to find charts for technical analysis are on charting websites such as TradingView, Investors Business Daily’s MarketSmith, Nasdaq and the London Stock Exchange.
The best places to find data for fundamental analysis, macroeconomic updates, earnings releases and analyst commentary include news sites such as CNBC, The Financial Times, and Investors Business Daily.
Twitter accounts and popular trading blogs such as @WatcherGuru, @unusual_whales, and @MarketWatch are also very helpful.
Additionally, email newsletters such as the daily one by Stocktwits are simply excellent.
Finally, at Koody, we recommend reading William J. O’Neil’s How to Make Money in Stocks before you start trading.
Once a company completes its IPO, the share price will be determined by factors such as supply and demand. There are a variety of factors that affect the supply and demand for a company’s stock over time, including:
When you study stock price-volume charts, you discover patterns that help you predict price movements. According to William J. O’Neil, “It is the unique combination of finding stocks with big increases in sales, earnings and return on equity plus strong chart patterns revealing institutional buying that together will materially improve your stock selection and timing. The best professionals use charts”.
When reading charts, you want to focus on the daily, weekly and yearly price-volume action. There is a wide range of technical indicators and oscillators you can use when working with stock charts, including moving averages, stochastic oscillators, moving average convergence divergence (MACD), standard deviation, Bollinger bands, relative strength index (RSI), Fibonacci retracement, among others.
The global economy will grow and shrink over time. When the economy is growing, most sectors tend to do well. But when the economy is shrinking and things are not as rosy, only certain sectors continue to do well.
Industries that produce or sell everyday essentials such as food, beverages and pharmaceuticals tend to do well in every economic climate. In comparison, industries such as retailing and aerospace that provide non-essential products or services tend to mirror the health of the economy. Understanding these cycles can help you decide what shares to buy and when.
If you can predict how the world will change in the next 10 to 20 years and what industries and companies are poised to benefit from this change, you can begin to invest in stocks and shares accordingly.
For example, how will climate change affect energy companies and automobile manufacturers in the next 10 to 20 years? What changes do you anticipate in online retailing, financial services and healthcare? Who stands to benefit most from changing consumption patterns? Indian universities currently produce some of the best technical talents in the world–what does this mean for the future of technology? What about China?
This type of analysis should form the basis behind every stock you choose to invest in. A thoughtful investor has a “story” that explains every decision behind a stock pick.
When picking stocks, it is crucial to look for leading companies with solid financials. Leading companies are not necessarily popular brands or household names but companies that are the number one in their industry or sector from a fundamental and technical analysis standpoint.
Leading companies are the best-performing stocks according to highest quarterly and annual earnings growth, highest return on equity, widest profit margins, strongest sales growth and excellent price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios.
To identify companies with healthy financials, you might need a stock screener to filter based on specific criteria such as earnings per share (EPS) growth, revenue growth, market capitalisation, P/E ratio, sector, dividend yield and other metrics. The best trading apps in the UK will offer stock screeners as part of their in-house trading software or allow you to connect to advanced third-party trading software with stock screeners.
It might also be worth looking at and researching some of your favourite brands, i.e. brands you know, love and use often. It is no secret that the world’s biggest, most popular and most loved brands tend to be the most profitable.
You might like: Best ETFs and Best Index Funds.
When you start researching the markets, you will quickly come to see how much analyst forecasts and recommendations affect short-term share price movements.
While it is important to pay attention to analyst forecasts and commentary, you should not obsess over them but instead, try to form your own opinions.
Spend time reading macro and company-specific news, trading blogs and opinion pieces to better understand the markets. This, in addition to fundamental and technical analysis of a stock, should help you form your own opinion, create your “story”, and make a sensible purchase.
When picking shares, it is risky to invest in just one company. If the company gets into difficulty, you could lose all you invested. It is better to build a diversified portfolio.
Building a diversified portfolio means you should consider investing in multiple companies, across different industries and in various geographies. A combination of blue-chip stocks, high-growth companies and dividend stocks across a variety of industry sectors and geographies provide the ultimate diversification.
A simple and easy way to diversify your portfolio is to invest in mutual funds and ETFs. Funds save you the trouble of buying shares in multiple companies or worrying about building a diversified portfolio. They are also safer and cheaper than buying individual stocks since you share the risks and costs with other investors. Most people, including experienced investors, use funds when investing.
Once a trader has done all of the above and has their strategy in place, the key is to stick to it. Investing can be highly emotional at the best of times, and this is particularly true with an intense, high-paced approach such as margin trading.
It is important to review the success or failures of the strategy being implemented, but this should be done outside of trading hours when emotions can be somewhat removed from the process.
The best stock trading apps in the UK charge several fees for using their services. The main ones are the annual platform fee, dealing fee, foreign exchange fee, transfer out fee, and inactivity fee.
The following are the tax on stocks and shares in the UK:
When you buy UK shares electronically, you will pay a 0.5% Stamp Duty Reserve Tax (SDRT) to the government.
If you purchase UK shares using a stock transfer form, you will pay Stamp Duty if the transaction is over £1,000.
Stamp Duty on Irish registered stocks is 1%.
You do not pay Stamp Duty on AIM stocks or Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs).
When you sell shares or other investments, irrespective of the country where the shares are registered or the currency the shares are denominated in, you may have to pay Capital Gains Tax if you make a profit.
You may have to pay tax on the following:
You only have to pay Capital Gains Tax on your overall gains above your tax-free allowance.
This tax year, the Capital Gains tax-free allowance is £6,000 (£3,000 for trusts). This means you will not have to pay tax on the first £6,000 profit you make from selling your stocks and shares unless you have already used up your allowance elsewhere, for example, on the profit from the sale of cryptocurrencies.
Additionally, the first £1,000 you receive in dividend payments is tax-free. Visit GOV.UK for more information on the tax on dividends and the dividend allowance.
You may also be able to reduce your tax bill by deducting losses or claiming reliefs - this depends on the asset. Another way to limit your tax bill is by trading certain kinds of leveraged products. Please speak to your tax adviser for more information. Also, visit GOV.UK for more on Capital Gains Tax allowances.
Here are the best stock trading apps for beginners in the UK:
The easiest way to get into stock trading in the UK is to download a stock trading app, research the stocks you want to invest in, deposit some funds into the trading app, and start trading. Today, the best trading apps will allow you to start trading with as little as £1. Some apps, like eToro, give you access to a demo account with US$100,000, which you can use to practise stock trading until you become confident enough to invest real money.
Beginners can invest in the following:
Here are the best trading apps in the UK:
The best commission-free trading apps in the UK are eToro, Freetrade, and InvestEngine, all of which offer commission-free trading on a range of assets, making them good options for investors looking for low-fee platforms. eToro stands out with its social trading network, Freetrade offers a simple user interface and premium subscription service, and InvestEngine charges no platform or management fees on its DIY Portfolio.
Yes, you can make a living trading stocks in the UK. Traders make money by identifying big wins and closing positions early enough to make a sizable profit. The amount of money a trader can make from trading depends on their initial capital, trading strategies, investing savviness and risk management plan.
Self-learning to trade is arguably one of the best ways to learn how to trade. There is an abundance of free and paid resources available online to help you become an excellent trader. Peter Hargreaves, the co-founder of the largest investment platform in the UK, Hargreaves Lansdown, famously started the company trading from a bedroom in 1981. He originally trained as an accountant and worked as a computer salesman. To teach yourself to become a stock trader, invest in books and quality online courses.
When you buy UK shares electronically, you will pay a 0.5% Stamp Duty Reserve Tax (SDRT) to the government. If you purchase UK shares using a stock transfer form, you will pay Stamp Duty if the transaction is over £1,000. Stamp Duty on Irish registered stocks is 1%. You may also pay Capital Gains Tax and Income Tax on the gains and dividends from your trades, respectively.
One of the main reasons traders lose money is that they allow their emotions to get the better of them. For example, it can be very difficult to watch a portfolio lose potentially tens or hundreds of thousands right before your eyes. This can lead traders to sell, even when their strategy suggests that they should not. Other reasons traders lose money include not carrying out sufficient research, averaging down positions, lack of diversification and overtrading.
Stock picking is notoriously difficult for the average trader because markets tend to be efficient, especially over long periods. The efficient-market hypothesis (EMH) states that asset prices reflect all available information. Hence, it is impossible to “beat the market” consistently on a risk-adjusted basis since market prices should only react to new information. This is the primary thesis behind investing in passive index tracker funds.
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