The People's Forum: Thanks for that

Like I said it was just wanting to dip my toe and have a bit more control of when and crucially when my money is invested. It annoys me with the manged funds, that I might try to buy after a dip in the market, and they take a week or more to invest it, by which time it has recovered so I didnt gain.......but I suspect that Im investing so little that any gains from me having more control would be eaten in fees.

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I'll caveat the below with the usual, Im not a financial advisor :

Like you, I have a SIPP seperate to works pension, savings accounts and I use Fidelity for my Stocks and Shares ISA. I also have Junior Stocks and Shares ISA's for my kids, and even set them up with SIPP's for their future, probably long after Im gone

Buying your own shares in a company is a bigger gamble than sticking with trusted funds. The rewards can be bigger, but so can the risk and it can leave you with zilch. As you say, theres a cost per trade so your initial purchase has to be enough so that making the 10gbp back isnt much of a gain as it will no doubt be 10gbp when you go to withdraw it too.

Me personally, I'd split the 10k between 3 or 4 trusted funds, and I'd ensure that these funds focus on different areas globally too (e.g not just Europe). Viewpoint Magazine on Chelsea FS website is a good read for which funds they trust to do well. You can then compare their rating to the MorningStar rating and edge your bets to the better long term choices.

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Wondering if anyone coud give a pointer here....

What savings we have are either in our pensions, savings accounts and a stocks and shares ISA. I was looking at trading apps, to look at some shares and maybe guilts/bonds. I would imagine over a year or so adding between 5 and 10k as much to dip my toe in the water more than expecting to make much money. But when I look at the account charges and transaction charges for trading accounts (£10 set up and £10 per trade for HSBC), Im wondering if its worth my while for such small trades. Is there a better platform, or for the amount of money im talking should I just stick to putting it in savings and pensions?