First time investor needing some assistance please

Hello,
I’m a total newb. I have no experience is stocks or investments. What seems obvious and maybe I am very wrong here, is to buy like brand names, Netflix, Meta Leverbrothers. Is that just the totally wrong thing to do?

I’m not interested in having less than I put in a year or two from now.

If you’re that new to investing I’d recommend some broad market ETFs like VUSA. But, even ETFs can go down. The only “super safe” investment is bonds.

This I’m afraid isn’t the correct attitude, there’s a very real chance of having less than you invested in 1 or 2 years - it could even half or worse.

For such short periods, you need to put it in a bank.

Pigwink - You need to do some study and setup a strategy before you put your money into the markets. One key think you need to learn is risk management.

If you do not have the time to learn and reseach just invest into activly managed funds and let someone with experitise do the research and risk management for you.

@Pigwink Only invest money you can afford to loose and be truthful to yourself you can really afford to loose it all…cos you and i can loose it all am afraid.

Nothing wrong with having a dabble, but investing is all about balancing risk/reward.

If you put your money in the bank, you will earn interest, so although you would end up with more than you had at the start of the year, the interest you earn will likely be less than inflation.

If you are starting to invest, I would suggest picking an index tracking fund with no less than 90% of your funds. Use the other 10% to invest in stocks you pick. You do however need to be prepared for the long haul. There are plenty articles out there that explain that time in the market is key, and upwards of 70% of private investors cannot beat the return of an index fund.

Not saying you won’t, but I would start by dipping your toes in with a small amount.