How do I decide whether stockmarket investment is for me?
Sometimes it is easy to be overwhelmed by the image of the City and forget the fact that stockbrokers are really no different to anyone else buying and selling goods and services. You might prefer to think of them as pin-striped barrow boys! Remember that the primary function of a market-place for shares is actually to provide companies with a place for them to raise money to invest in their businesses. Of course, for there to be a ready market for such new shares, there has to be a ready market for second-hand shares. Nobody is going to want to invest in something that they are not going to be able to sell when they want to do so. The vast majority of trading on the world’s equity markets is secondary trading. That is to say it is the trading of shares previously held by one or more other investor. To succeed in attracting companies, the market must also be attractive to investors. Stockmarket investment offers you the potential for greater returns than could ordinarily be achieved by
