If you want to get started investing in Ireland or Europe but don’t know how, then this video is for you. We run through the 5 main things a beginner investor in Ireland or Europe needs to do in order to get started investing in stocks & the stock market.
Getting started investing in Ireland or Europe isn’t as hard as you might think.
First and foremost, you can’t invest in stocks and the stock market without a broker. Choosing a broker is going to be heavily dependent on the country you’re from, and what brokerage services are offered to you based on your nationality and the laws of your country. In Ireland and Europe, the brokers that we recommend to check out are Revolut (for beginners), Degiro/eToro/Trading 212 (for novice investors), and Interactive Brokers for the more advanced investor.
After you choose a broker, the next step is to create a watchlist of companies that you’re interested in. If you’re an Irish or European investor looking to invest in US listed companies, you have plenty to choose from. Creating a watchlist of companies is a great way for you to start practicing your investing skills - especially when it comes to researching companies to invest in. When it comes to investing for beginners, it is advised that you look at buying stocks that you really understand. If you don’t understand the company, it’s going to be very difficult to understand its performance on the public markets - especially if you have no idea how it makes money. That's why it’s advisable for a beginner investors in Ireland (and all investors for that matter) to create a watchlist of companies that you understand, and this usually starts with companies that you already spend your money on.
Thirdly, once you have a watchlist created, you can then begin to analyse these companies and do both a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the stock and its performance. We won’t get into too much detail on these in this video, but use the links that we left at the top of this description to check out our two part series on ‘How to analyse a stock’.
Fourthly, you want to bite the bullet and just buy your first stock or ETF! One of the biggest mistakes that beginner investors in Ireland make is simply not starting. Although patience is certainly a virtue when it comes to investing, this is more the case once you already are invested. Your money isn’t working for you sitting in your bank account or even your brokerage account. Unless it’s actually invested, that money is doing nothing.
Lastly, if you're investing in Ireland (and most of Europe), you will need to pay and file capital gains tax every year (if you sell any of your shares/crypto/etc.) If you don't sell anything, you don't need to file!
