is now a good time to buy shares?

[macdanger2]

Personally I think BoI are a decent punt - I'm basing that on very little though.

AIB aren't available for general purchase at the moment and I'd be wary of buying them when they do become available, could be way over / under priced.

[The Iceman]

What are peoples views on banking shares currently. I had been considering making a small long term (20 year) investment and had been eyeing up BOI and Lloyds specifically, obviously a gamble but would people be confident in their long term performance?

why banking? why not look at a more stable investment. Health insurance in the US - look at the performance of Aetna for example over the past 6/7 years...

No particular reason, have just followed them since things went tits up and note their current low value compared to the high which I would have thought they would return to long term - my knowledge is limited (under statement) and as I say it was only as a small investment (gamble). Thanks though will have a look at those.

Its all Vegas money so thats the right attitude to approach it with - be willing to lose.
Its certainly better than saving it in my book - stick with a lifecycle index fund from someone like Vanguard and you can't really go wrong as long as you keep putting money into it regularly.
Thankfully I've made some very lucky investments over the years - made nice money on Barclays at a time, MITK was a huge tip I got a few years back and got out at the perfect time. I have some money in Aetna and Ford at the minute just sitting there. Haven't dabbled in a while but if you want to make safe money go with an index fund and keep paying in to it.

[muppet]

Warning: I haven't a clue what I am talking about!

Now that the above is out of the way, I have had some (dumb) luck over the last 3/4 years with mutual funds (nearly 40%) and a lucky punt on on an Irish stock (50% but slipping back).

I have no idea what to do next, but I'll let you know afterwards if it worked.

[lfdown2]

Can any of you advise on how to buy shares as a gift for someone else?

[GJL]

Anyone buying? A lot of shares have tumbled. You would expect them to recover somewhat when lockdown is over.

[Mikhail Prokhorov]

have a look at disney, underpriced atm due to parks closed, netflix taking off etc, but should be solid long term

[Boycey]

Dunno about shares but it's a good time to buy eggs, they'll be like currency next week...

https://www.northernsound.ie/ireland-faces-shortage-1-5-million-eggs-day-due-outbreak-avian-flu/

[pbat]

Mine with Zurich are down 57% so I am buying more at the minute, nothing mad might just do 5k.

[Ambrose]

Holy Sh*t, I haven't checked Tesla share prices for a while  Might be time to get out.

[magpie seanie]

If we're all going to be wearing masks then perhaps Gilette shares might be worth a flutter. A lot of beards will go.....

[Maroon Manc]

Surprised at the rally taking place

[trailer]

I plan to put some cash into my pension pot over this next few weeks and months. It's long term obviously but the FTSE should rise over this next 15 - 20 years so hopefully getting some cash into that now will be a good plan.

[TabClear]

I plan to put some cash into my pension pot over this next few weeks and months. It's long term obviously but the FTSE should rise over this next 15 - 20 years so hopefully getting some cash into that now will be a good plan.

Bit of a strange rationale? Yes equities will be expected to steadily increase in the longterm but that is no different to where it was before this crisis. Its not 15 years since the last crash so there will be a good few peaks and troughs in the period you referred to.

I personally think the market is overpriced at the minute following the recent rally. I think there is a retail buyer "bounce" at the minute because people think it is underpriced due to how far it has fallen and that was probably true 3 weeks ago. I think the  FTSE is higher than it was at the start of march. I think there will be a fall later in the year if it becomes apparent that  there was actually a recession on the cards before Covid and the recovery is going to be more painful than most people thought. There is definitely an opportunity in specific stocks worst hit (leisure/travel etc) but the problem is that they are high risk. A proportion of these will go bankrupt so its the ones with strong balance sheets and low leverage that will survive and do well as more highly geared competitors disappear.

[trailer]

I plan to put some cash into my pension pot over this next few weeks and months. It's long term obviously but the FTSE should rise over this next 15 - 20 years so hopefully getting some cash into that now will be a good plan.

Bit of a strange rationale? Yes equities will be expected to steadily increase in the longterm but that is no different to where it was before this crisis. Its not 15 years since the last crash so there will be a good few peaks and troughs in the period you referred to.

I personally think the market is overpriced at the minute following the recent rally. I think there is a retail buyer "bounce" at the minute because people think it is underpriced due to how far it has fallen and that was probably true 3 weeks ago. I think the  FTSE is higher than it was at the start of march. I think there will be a fall later in the year if it becomes apparent that  there was actually a recession on the cards before Covid and the recovery is going to be more painful than most people thought. There is definitely an opportunity in specific stocks worst hit (leisure/travel etc) but the problem is that they are high risk. A proportion of these will go bankrupt so its the ones with strong balance sheets and low leverage that will survive and do well as more highly geared competitors disappear.

I put a fixed amount in every month and usually a lump sum at year end. I suppose I feel I'll get better value for my lump sum by putting it in now. That's the point I'm trying to make. Putting money into one stock or even a few is risky especially for the everyday person. Better to think long term. Get a good pension and build that pot.

[seafoid]

Shares are valued on the basis of interest rates using a method called net present value.

The lower the interest rate the higher the value of a share.
If interest rates go up the value of shares will fall.
If there is another crash the value of shares will fall

One would need to be able to price these risks really to justify investing in shares.