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Shares: How to invest in the stock market

Created:
23 April 2008
Updated:
24 April 2008
Written by:
Dominic Picarda

Investing in the stock market has never been easier, and there have never been more reasons to do it. Although shares are more volatile investments than bank savings accounts, and prices may fall as well as rise, history shows that over the longer term, they have consistently outperformed most other asset classes.

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The reason for this is simple - better returns are simply a reward for taking more risk. But you can reduce the level of risk by choosing your shares carefully, and you can increase your profits by keeping other costs, things like dealing charges and taxes, to a minimum.

The following guides are designed to get you started. Remember that they are only a selection of the huge amount of educational content available on the IC website; if you want more articles, or a subject not covered below, then use the search box at the top of the page.

Choosing brokers and trading platforms

If you're looking to take your first steps in the stock market, or if you've already got investments but want to reduce your costs, then you need to choose a broker. Our guide shows how to find the stockbroker that best suits your needs - and how to bypass brokers entirely by using direct market access. More on choosing brokers and direct market access.

How to pick stocks

What the different metrics mean? We guide you through the process of stock selection, explain why markets move the way they do, and show you how to use stock screening to take the guesswork out of investing. More on researching companies' shares and market data.

Different types of shares

Do you know your Culs from your Pibs? In this guide, we run through some of the more exotic equity instruments, explain how the Alternative Investment Market (Aim) works, and why it's different to the main market, and introduce you to the world of international investing. More on share classes and the alternative investment market.

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