All in Sharesies
I interviewed a bloke for an upcoming episode of my podcast and he had a lot to say about investing in individual shares and why he used to buy them, but now no longer does. He took the advice of a good friend when she told him, back in the 1980s, just buy into today’s equivalent of an index fund and let time in the market be your money’s best friend. Low and behold, she was correct.
Sharesies have been making a few tweaks to their system. If you already use them they will have emailed you (but if you are like me, you may not have read it) and I felt the changes are worth mentioning for those investing with them already or for those thinking about doing so. Sharesies is now “tidier” to use and I think probably less confusing for newbie investors too.
When I realised that in order to become an investor I didn’t have to learn how to pick stocks it was like the clouds had parted and the sun had finally come out. And I have American John C. Bogle to thank for that. Last week he passed away at the age of 89 but he leaves a huge legacy behind and I know that in years to come many will still be learning from him, just like I did.
This question was sent in by Declan a while back, but it is one that crops up in my inbox relatively consistently as well, so I thought back to what I did and what I would do if faced with the situation he is proposing again.
I have reached a point where I’ve learned a bit more about myself. When I heard that the stock market had “plummeted” it actually didn’t unnerve me at all. Warren Buffet would say that I have not lost anything, because I didn’t sell, the value of my investments has simply changed and by my calculations, I’m down 4%. If I freaked out and sold then I would have locked in my losses. But I didn’t and I won’t.
I don’t subscribe to the view of “leaving my daughter to it”; that when she is old enough she can earn her own money and save for herself and she will miraculously become wealthy. In my view starting young, learning how money works and investing over a long period of time is the way to get ahead.
Recently I had an excellent question from a fellow Happy Saver who had been comparing SmartShares, SuperLife and Sharesies, not so much to find the lowest fees, but to work out which has the smoothest and easiest system and which one allowed him to purchase shares in the fastest time.
Sharesies have just celebrated their first birthday and up until this point I have resisted having a play around with their product. But I figure that they are still here after a year, the social media fan party has faded away and yet they still keep coming up in conversation.
