How to Buy and Sell stocks in 2024

Good news for the beginner investor that you are, you don't need to be an expert trader or analyst to be able to invest in the stock market and benefit from the potential return on the stocks invested. However, keep in mind that investing in the stock market involves risks of capital loss. We sometimes hear that investors “bet on the stock market”, which sums up the situation well: you can win but also lose big. This is why, even if the listed markets are accessible to everyone, even to novices in the world of finance, it is important to take the time to inform yourself before getting started. So the question arises: how to invest in the stock market for beginners? Here are the concepts to know and the main steps to follow.

The stock market for beginners investing in the stock market, what and why?

Before taking action and investing your savings in the stock market, it is essential to understand what investing in the stock market means. In a few words, it involves purchasing shares or other securities of listed companies, which amounts to acquiring ownership and capital shares in said companies. In practice, by investing in the stock market through the purchase of shares, the investor becomes a shareholder/partner of the company concerned.

The major advantage of this type of investment is that it allows you to benefit from a potential return in the medium and long term, although it should be kept in mind that the performance of shares depends on the date and the duration of the investment. Furthermore, stock markets are generally very volatile, which means that past performance is no guarantee of future performance. This is even though, according to one of the founding principles of the sector, history tends to repeat itself on the stock market.

Step 1 – Know the main titles

Learning the stock market for beginners requires assimilating certain concepts. Before making your first stock market investments, it is essential to familiarize yourself with the types of financial instruments tradable on the markets. The best known are stocks, but there are many others, each of which has its characteristics and degree of risk.

We can cite for example bonds, which designate a share of borrowing carried out by a company or a State, and trackers (ETF), namely index funds which seek to follow as faithfully as possible the evolution of a stock market index. , UCI shares (collective investment undertakings), derivative products, and much more.

Thanks to the existence of these various financial products, it is possible to invest in the stock market while respecting a very specific investment strategy: concretely, you can choose between the potential for a high but risky return and a potentially moderate but risky return. safer.

Step 2 - Select a financial intermediary

To buy and sell shares (or other securities), you will need to place stock market orders with a financial intermediary. Online banks and brokers are interesting intermediaries. Indeed, unlike traditional network banks, which are likely to charge significant fees for managing and holding shares, online establishments often offer low-cost brokerage offers. 1\

Step 3 - Choose a support for your market investments

To be able to invest in the stock market, you will need to have a medium on which to house your securities. You can open an ordinary securities account with your financial intermediary. This will allow you to buy and sell all types of stock products as well as store all the securities you own.

You will then be able to put together a portfolio focused on investing in French or European companies while benefiting from advantageous taxation on your potential returns.

By opening an ordinary securities account or a PEA with Fortuneo, you have an offer without custody fees and account maintenance fees. We also give you access to exclusive trading tools to monitor your values, carry out your technical analyses, and place your orders in just a few clicks. From an investment of €30,000, and if you wish, you can also benefit from our managed management service without set-up fees, profile changes, and termination of the mandate.

Step 4 – Define your investment strategy

To invest well in the stock market, one of the keys is to think about this investment before even launching and placing any order whatsoever. Your profile, your objectives, and the degree of risk you are prepared to face will allow you to define an investment strategy, which you will use to structure your investments. If you are looking to gradually grow your savings to prepare for your retirement, while keeping in mind the risk of losses, it is possible to invest in assets that are not very speculative. Conversely, if you aim for quick and significant returns, and your assets are large enough to incur higher capital losses, you can consider investing more dynamically. For example: by positioning yourself in volatile (and therefore risky) but potentially high-growth areas, such as the technology sector.

Step 5 - Practice with a Virtual Wallet

With a virtual wallet, you will be able to simulate buying and selling securities transactions as if you were exposed to the markets, but exchanging fictitious amounts of money. This tool, free and accessible online, allows you to practice placing stock market orders and refine your investment strategy. In short, it allows you to try investment strategies without taking any real risk, so that you can work on managing your emotions in particular. However, the virtual wallet has limitations, which you should be aware of. Indeed, the emotions felt at the sight of a fall in prices tend to be less intense in virtual mode than in the real world. However, learning to keep a cool head in all circumstances, in order not to make inadequate and hasty decisions, is fundamental to investing in the stock market.

Step 6 – Invest reasonable amounts

Slowly but surely, this is the watchword to follow when investing in the stock market. Whatever your level and prior training time on a virtual portfolio, generally speaking, it seems preferable to invest sums whose loss would not put you in difficulty, that is to say, amounts whose loss would not put you in an uncomfortable financial situation. Investing in the stock market must always be reasoned.

Step 7 - Inform yourself to bet on the right values

All traders will tell you, that being informed is another key to being successful in the financial markets. To buy the right products and resell them at the most optimal time possible, it is essential to document stock market news, and news in general because almost everything can have a more or less significant impact on the stock markets and therefore on your investment. In addition, depending on the strategy deployed, it is important to monitor the day-to-day prices of the shares you hold (or wish to hold) and to read the press releases and reports issued by listed companies. This monitoring is a crucial element in making reasoned decisions regarding your stock market investments and thus trying to generate a potential return.

Step 8 – Build a Diversified Portfolio

When you invest in the stock market, you make sure you don't put all your eggs in one basket. Not diversifying your portfolio is one of the mistakes you should not make when investing in the stock market. If it is recommended for the investment of your assets as a whole, diversification must also be carried out within your financial portfolio. So, to avoid being affected by the collapse of a particular market, consider investing in stocks of companies from different industries and geographic areas.

Step 9 – Opt for management under mandate

Do you have little time to devote to monitoring your investments? You are not yet confident enough in your knowledge and skills but would like to invest without delay. In these cases, you can subscribe to a management offer under mandate (or managed management). This allows you to invest in the stock market without having to manage your investment strategy alone. In practice, you then delegate the management of your securities account or your PEA to financial professionals. These experts invest your funds in the stock market by the level of risk you have set and your investor profile.

If you opt for our mandate management offer (under conditions), you pay your manager every six months, only if he makes you money. The pricing of the option under mandate is proportional to the positive performance achieved by the managers over the past calendar half-year.