Beginning to Invest - All questions go here please

PCeeeee

Sorry another dividend question. I had a few small dividends on DeGiro last year. There was a deduction on DeGiro which I'm assuming is 25% DWT.

So after this the remaining sum is treated as income?

SnowyMuckish

Found this on Ask About Money forum from a poster discouraging amateur investors going it alone….

Opinions? Are they drumming business for their own business or would you find this credible.

https://globalwealth.ie/news-and-views/should-diy-investors-have-a-go-at-investing-with-a-de-giro-or-e-toro-account

Geuze

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118597193#Comment_118597193

The whole dividend is income.

The State tells the firms to deduct a witholding tax, which is now 25%.

You declare the dividend in your normal tax return.

You either get some tax back, or pay the balance 15% if you are 40% tax payer.

darego

Capital Gains Tax Question (most likely asked & answered 100 times already so please point me in the right direction!)

I started trading at the beginning of last year and need some clarity on Irish CGT in relation to stocks.

So my question - can losses on the sale of stocks be carried over year to year indefinitely? And can the losses from the sale of one stock be offset against the gains from a different stock or do they have to be used on the same class of stock?

Random example: if I lost 1k on MSFT/GOOGL or whatever stock this year, could that loss be offset against a gain from BTC in 2024?

I ask this because I recently read this in a moneyguideireland.com article:

If you have shares that have gone down in value and you wish to use the loss incurred on the shares against other gains, then you must dispose of the shares in the same tax year as other shares sales upon which you have made a gain.

KrazyKMM

If you are just starting out with investing, what would you say is a good amount of stocks for a portfolio to be considered well-diversified? Obviously I can't buy in all at once, but I am making a goal. I am thinking 20. Is that too many?

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118636858#Comment_118636858

20 is a good number to be diversified. The key is to be diversified in industry and market. 10 different shares is more diversified than 20 travel stocks for example.

Can be tough to buy 20 in one go without a big initial deposit (unless you're going for fractional shares)

KrazyKMM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118637298#Comment_118637298

Thanks! I really appreciate the reply. Yes, I do plan to buy into them just a few at a time with hopefully getting to a full 20 different positions within 3-6 months. I do plan to buy some in fractional shares. Once I get all of them that I want to hold, then I will continue to put a little bit into them as I can. Your comment about being in different industries makes sense. I will be sure to diversify into different sectors. Thank you again.

arthursway

Some complete noob questions here and apologies in advance.

I was looking to throw maybe 100 euro a month into s&p 500 for long-term investment (decades).

Just wondering is it is easy as doing so on degiro just adding 100 euro a month and forgetting it about it or do I have to worry about filling up tax forms every couple of years or getting surprised with charges on degiro each year. Any help would be appreciated and sorry for being so green to the area of stocks.

KrazyKMM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118643268#Comment_118643268

Don't quote me on it, but I don't think you have to worry about the taxes unless you actually take realized gains or losses. Not sure about Degiro fees though.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118643380#Comment_118643380

It seems he's talking about ETFs. Which are taxed differently to stocks. Definitely worth researching.

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118643268#Comment_118643268

If you're putting it into a S&P ETF, you have to complete a tax return from year 8 onwards. Nothing too onerous, In year 8, you've to calcualte the tax on your profit as if you've sold the year 1 shares. Year 9, do the same for year 2 etc.

Degiro charges aren't noticeable

arthursway

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118643774#Comment_118643774

Okay thanks I will have 8 years to learn all about it so.

Is the below fund in picture the closest I can get to the s&p500?

Or is there one you would recommend instead.

Thanks

KrazyKMM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118643832#Comment_118643832

This is the equivalent of VOO in the United States. It's a good one for following the S&P 500. Check the expense ratio on that. Not too bad at 0.07%.

SnowyMuckish

What platform do you use to buy your investment trusts? I was looking at Aj Bell, their fees seem ok according to boringmoney? Can you set up an account if you’re based here in Ireland?

What other options are there?

Patsy167

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118658437#Comment_118658437

Degiro have all the main ones, including the Ballie Galford trusts

SnowyMuckish

Are there any ‘ beginners 101’ simple to follow websites or apps to help learn about tax on investments in Ireland that anyone could recommend?

https://youtu.be/InfLTMTllg4

SnowyMuckish

Thanks Bainboru! Just had a look at that and their other stuff, They have so many informative videos for beginning investors! Well worth it!

SnowyMuckish

Sorry if this sounds ridiculous, but it seems to good to be true, am I understanding this right?

According to the above SMTs investments grew 359.81% over the last 5 years.

So for example if I had invested €1000 5 years ago my return would now be this:

€1000 + 359.81%

€1000 + €3598.1= €4598.1

Surely I’m misunderstanding/ miscalculating?

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118670097#Comment_118670097

I think it's a little selective with when they took the 5 year period, 5 years ago it was 360 and now its 970 so more like 170%. And you'll need to pay tax obviousy on your gain. It had a great run and may have been up 360% at some stage, it's down about 40% in the last few months

SnowyMuckish

I was thinking it sounded too good to be true , thanks!

SnowyMuckish

If it’s not too personal a question, would anyone be willing to give an example of their own returns from investing in an investment trust over the last five or ten years? I would love to get an actual insight on how people have really faired out, I completely understand if it’s too personal!

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118670350#Comment_118670350

The last few years are a bit of an anomaly, the S&P in the past 3 years is up 31%, 18%, 29%, so even just buying a cheap Vanguard fund for those years has been tough to beat. Personally, 2020 was a year I'll never beat, 110% in the year, mainly off the back of Bitcoin surge and the tech stocks surging, but was flat then for 2021 and down so far this year. I've only been invested about 10 years and have a CAGR of 24% currently. I don't think that even beats the market in that period!

TalleyRand83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118670350#Comment_118670350

Was only in the financial position to start Feb 2021 after being a long time voyeur of the markets, anyways my impeccable timing had me down 10.5% by end of Dec 2021 and now down 20% since the start of this year! Come sign up to my financial advice service turning dreams into nightmares!

peacock20

Have been watching a lot of Everything Money on YouTube.. I kind of like it, main guy is no nonsense really, bit arrogant but that doesn't bother me. Anyone watch them, has anyone signed up to their software?

The videos are always a hard sale of their software, that's fair enough, but if you look past that, I'm wondering if it could be helpful to nail down a process. Personally, I'm a bit all over the place lately, but too flighty.

Any thoughts on this anyone ?

SnowyMuckish

From observing from the sidelines I see some of the green energy stocks that I’ve had on my watch list have shot upon the last few days, no doubt due to the energy crisis atm. Everything else seems to be going down.

Where does money usually go when the market is nervous? Bonds/ gold? Has anyone invested in these areas?

coco0981

So I hadn't lodged money to my etoro account in a while but don't see to be able do it like I used to before

I used to lodge through PayPal in dollars from a revolut mastercard. This meant the exchange rate was done on revolut who I think are much better than using etoros exchange rate. But the option to lodge in dollars seems to be gone off the PayPal site? Am I missing something

TalleyRand83

Just thinking about something, if you are in a position of recurring income and have future CGT wins then really investing is a no brainer, although I state that with intention someone here might correct assumptions I'm making

If you realize any stock losses you can off-set them against future CGT gains, my own accountant tells me absolutely yes on this as I thought it could only be CGT in the specific year, so really even when you lose you don't really lose 💁‍♂️

Taylor365

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118731727#Comment_118731727

A loss is a loss, either straight or through massive taxes.

FromADistance

So I have 1-2k to play about with on shares via Revolut... I'm not too fussed about short term losses etc and it's money I can afford to loose. Ideally, I'd like to pick about 10 stocks and forget about the choices for a minimum of 5 years. Any suggestions or ideas? I will be doing my own research but I'm interested in peoples thoughts.

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118733476#Comment_118733476

Duplicate post

TalleyRand83

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118733065#Comment_118733065

But I have unavoidable CGT gains upcoming (property related) so surely it isn't the hard loss overall, or am I missing something?

CGT is 33%, no changing that, obviously would rather profits and no losses but might as well take a realized loss on stocks that can offset CGT liability

Flex

Perhaps not necessarily a 'beginning to invest' question, but read a thread earlier about a person looking to split €2000 among ten stocks, which is where this curiosity stems from..

What is the minimum € position that you would consider worthwhile buying in a company? I know there are highly speculative plays, very long shots with high risk and so on, but typically if you wanted to buy into a company for a buy and hold, what is the minimum you would consider worthwhile; €500, €1000, €5,000, etc., and why?

Thanks

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118760853#Comment_118760853

With a lot of brokers (Degiro etc) you have to buy a full share, so for something like Shopify that's about €500 (Google etc over €2000).

For me, it's evolved through the years, I started with about €50 per company to learn the ropes, then about €300 when I was feeling more comfortable, now it's about €1000 at a go when I start investing in a company, though some of my speculative losers have come right down from there.

I don't think there's a minimum. Whatever you're comfortable with

Taylor365

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118744621#Comment_118744621

What situation would you be in if you didn't lose any money, but had to pay the CGT without any offset?

The same position.

Layne

Can anybody remind me how long after selling fully out of a position (for a small profit) can you buy back in again??

Marymoore

Hey guys, a clueless investor here. looking to invest to fight inflation but want a safe investment. was looking at the s&P 500, but so confused when i see it on degiro. can anyone tell me the difference between vanguard and ishares? which is better? and whats the difference between EAM/TDG/LSE/XET... again which is best? i thought it would be a straightforward put it on s&p 500 but so many options...

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118878691#Comment_118878691

iShares/Vanguard are just different companies, it's like saving with AIB or BOI.

The EAM etc are the stock exchange that your tracker is listed on (EAM being Amsterdam so the cheapest Eurozone one for you)

Search for IE00B3XXRP09 and you'll find it - Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD

Marymoore

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118879442#Comment_118879442

thank you SOOO much Shedite. I literally had no idea :)

Umaro

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118761081#Comment_118761081

Worth noting that Google have a 20:1 stock split coming up in July so folks will be able to buy a Google share for around €130 which will be nice for smaller investors trying to slowly build their portfolio.

Layne

Can anybody advise me is there period of time after selling a full position in a stock before you are allowed to buy back in again?? Did I imagine seeing something about it or does it actually exist??

Tried searching online but to no avail. Any info greatly appreciated.

timetogo1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118896531#Comment_118896531

If you sell a stock to realise a loss. You can only use the loss if you don't buy the stock back within 4 weeks.

Selling or disposing of shares (revenue.ie)

You can still buy them back within the 4 weeks, that rule is just for realising the loss. That might be what you're thinking of.

Other than that. If you sell all of your stocks now, you can buy them back straight away as far as I'm aware.

In the US they have the pattern day trading rule. So might be applicable if you use a US broker (you can check that yourself, I'm not sure). It applies if you make 4 or more day trades within 5 working days.

Pattern Day Trader (PDT) Definition (investopedia.com)

Layne

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118897061#Comment_118897061

Many thanks for that timetogo1.

Sold out of a stock for a profit and was kicking myself that I sold too early. I had convinced myself that I was precluded from buying back in for a few weeks but your post clarifies the situation now. Much appreciated.

Layne

Have been looking into Vanguard S&P 500 ETFs.

VUSA seems to be the most popular but I have been looking at the VUAA as it is dividend accumulating and the one domiciled in Italy is traded in Euros so no FX fees.

My first question is can Irish residents invest in the Italian domiciled VUAA??

Secondly, when I look how VUSA and VUAA are doing on Trading 212 they differ eventhough they are invested in the same 500 stocks e.g. VUSA has increased by just over 13% in the past year whereas the VUAA has gone up by almost 19% in the same period. Probably a very simple explanation but any wisdom would be welcome.

kave2

Hi all, I'm looking into investing but have no experience other then crypto. I have done some googling, found the likes of Etoro, Degiro etc.

What is the best/safest platform to use? Thanks a lot.

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118988967#Comment_118988967

Degiro/Interactive Brokers are the two that most posters seem to use

massdebater

I use Interactive Brokers and it's great, although it can be confusing if you're just starting out. Trading212 is much more user friendly and should have everything you need, they also let you create your own "pie" which is good for creating your own basket of stocks that you can invest in regularly.

Layne

Quick question.

Among the many metrics to be considered when investing in a stock what importance do you put on PE ratios??

Also am I right in saying that it is a plus to have the forward PE ratio lower that the current PE ratio i.e. it implies that future earnings will surpass current earnings thus an acceleration in growth??

Would be interested to hear what people think.

dil87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119050844#Comment_119050844

Personally, and I'm not alone, PE ratios have little importance than many realise. High growth names tend to have higher PE ratios and they continue to go much higher (in a bull), rate of earnings increase is much more valuable to look at. Just because a company has a low PE does not automatically make it an attractive buy, that stock can go lower and so will its PE, at what point does it stop becoming attractive and start looking like a dud? Many big leaders in the past, including Microsoft, Google and Cisco, had high multiples of PE. If you're new and want to learn more I highly recommend William O'Neil's book, the 'value' 'Buffet' guys will disagree but that's why most holders are down 60%+ so far this year.

Esho

Noob question on Degiro- do you get the share certificates and get paid dividends on your investment?

Or is it just for spread betting?