Peoples of Pearler — Nola
“I was not at all confident about entering the share market. The paperwork, the risk, all the things I had to think about. My total savings was less than $5000. What’s the point?
Anyway, I took the leap of faith, opened a trading account and bought a few shares. The first one was an absolute dud, I lost half of my investment in 3 months. The second and third haven’t returned any miracles, but at least I can finally say that I’m doing it”. — Nola
What can be learnt from Nola is that the share market is not something you should approach on a whim. A share is essentially a right you purchase to the future profits of a company. As a result, some shares are riskier than others, some share values often run in cycles, and some shares you should avoid altogether. Would you go throwing your money at random businesses at your local shopping centre? No, you’d probably want to know who runs it, what their financial position is, and what their future plans are.
Just as fashion and social trends change, so does “investor confidence” in certain business and industries. Moreover, popular brands are often overpriced, and seemingly cheap companies may have some internal management issues you may not know about. Attempting to guess what’s next can be dangerous, and unless you have some industry knowledge or advantage you should think twice before trying to outsmart the experts.
If you have done some research and are prepared to risk some of your money (especially in the short term), you can start investing in your favourite companies with as little as $200, however, we recommend waiting until you have at least $1000. You can make small ‘top up’ purchases of the same share beyond that.
Brokerage cost can be as little as $10. You should never incur any ongoing costs or fees, except for when you sell them, in which case you will probably incur another brokerage fee and may be required to pay tax, depending on the profit made.
Pearler is making it even cheaper and easier, by allowing members to hold and trade up to 3 shares at a time for absolutely nothing — that’s right, free! As your confidence increases, you will be given the opportunity to hold and trade up to 20 shares at a time for only $10 per month. An unbelievably good deal if you ask me.
At pearler we pride ourselves on the quality of the financial advice we give, however, this advice has not been tailored for you. You may have unique financial goals, circumstances or needs which make this advice inappropriate, and it is important that you know whether you do. If you are unsure we urge you to speak to someone you trust who is competent with money and understands your individual needs, whether they be a trusted friend or professional.
