stock Exchange

It all started two centuries ago. On May 12, 1817, the first stock exchange in Poland was opened in Warsaw. For comparison, the oldest stock exchange in the world was opened almost 500 years ago, in 1531, in Antwerp. Although it was a place far from the stock exchange we know today, it is where it all began. The building in Antwerp was used for various transactions. The first shares were issued in 1606.

Returning to our lands, on the aforementioned opening day of the stock exchange, the first session started punctually at 12 o'clock. Initially, it was called the merchant exchange. Mainly bills and bonds were traded. An interesting fact is that between World War I and World War II, six other exchanges operated, including in Katowice, Kraków and Poznań.

The Warsaw Stock Exchange is one of the most recognizable financial institutions in Poland. And the largest in Central and Eastern Europe. What does the WSE look like in numbers?

1,000 domestic and foreign issuers.

Annual turnover of 74,473,842 million.

3000 listed instruments.

3 markets.

456 billion raised on the stock exchange for development.

What is the WSE?

Simply put, an entrepreneur who needs financing enters the stock exchange with the company. He sells the shares and the buyer becomes its co-owner.

Shares go up or down in value. And every company listed on the stock exchange must inform about its financial condition. Thanks to that, the share holders decide to sell or buy more shares of the company.

What is traded on the WSE?

The best known and most common subject of trading on the WSE is shares. Investors make money by buying them at a lower price and selling at a higher price, but there are other returns as well. Some companies pay dividends to their stockholders as part of the company's annual profit.

Other financial instruments available on inwestujfinanse.pl:

Bonds They belong to the so-called debt securities issued by the State Treasury, local governments and enterprises. The issuer wants to obtain funds for investments in this way. At the same time, it undertakes to return the 'loan' with interest by redeeming the bonds, usually after several or several years. If we want to invest in bonds, we must remember that these are long-term investments.

Investment certificates Simply put, these are securities that certify the purchase of a share in an investment fund, but their price does not reflect the company's price, but some commodities or stock indices. Example: you are not buying gold, you are buying a certificate confirming you have it.

Options on the WSE appear in the form of a contract. By purchasing an option, the buyer obtains the right to buy or sell an option to sell a specific underlying instrument (e.g. a share) on a specified date and price.

Futures Contracts Futures contracts - for advanced investors and people willing to risk. You can lose a lot or gain a lot during the day. Basically these are financial bets on how much the price of individual companies will be.

What to invest in at the beginning?

The following bonds carry the lowest risk:

local government

The Treasury.

Are you looking for a different investment idea? Check the possibilities of investing in social loans.

Investing in mutual funds

Lack of knowledge and skills in operating the stock market is not an obstacle to start investing in this way. Investment funds come to the rescue.

There are funds that invest in safe products such as bonds, and there are also those that mainly invest in stocks, commonly called aggressive. And in the middle there are mixed funds, where some capital is invested in safer products, and some in high-risk products.

Advantages of the funds:

you don't need to know about investing

money is in the hands of experienced people

higher profit than on the deposit

you don't have to read information from the market every day, analyze or make difficult decisions

security - the risk of losing money in the event of the fund's bankruptcy does not exist

quick access to cash, you can sell your share units at any time

possibility of using additional services

anyone can invest

Cons of funds:

we do not decide what our money will be invested in

high fees

Investing in loans, raw materials, cryptocurrencies

If investing in stocks seems too complicated to start with, investing in loans is an alternative. And in this field we have a wide range of activities. This type of investing is an option for both beginners and experienced investors. How it's working? Let's take a look at a few of these types of online platforms.

Mintos

One of the first and most popular in the world, where you invest from 10 euros. Several strategies to choose from, you can choose loans yourself or select specific options and you automatically invest in specific offers. How it's working? In a very simple way. Cooperating loan companies with Mintos, they put part of the loan on the platform and the private investor takes over a piece of it. The borrower repays the loan in installments, and the investor's part is transferred to his account.

Mintos at a glance:

they do not grant loans, it is done by loan companies, which then issue part of the loan to investors,

29 countries, 57 cooperating companies,

investing from EUR 10 / PLN 50,

high diversification opportunities, lower risk,

automatic investment options or according to your own scheme of operation,

90% of those investing at least EUR 500 had a 10% return over the year,

EUR 6 billion - this is how much investors have invested since 2015, i.e. the beginning of Mintos,

84% of investors stay with Mintos after their first year of investment.

Mintos has simple rules and you can invest a small amount to get started. You will find various types of loans on the stock exchange, including secured ones, which reduces the risk. You can check at any time when the client should pay the installment.

A very important piece of information for anyone interested in investing in loans on Mintos is to have access to your money even before you pay it off. All you need to do is to say that you want, need your money and it will be put up for sale. You will receive the money as soon as other investors take it over. The only problem is loans that are not repaid on time. In their case, it is necessary to wait until repayment or until the buyout guarantee is triggered. Another option is selling on the secondary market.

Mintos does not charge:

for transferring funds,

for the withdrawal of money,

for monthly service,

for opening an account.

Are you wondering what to invest in on such a portal? You will invest in any loan. Before you start, you choose a strategy, and among the non-standard ones are manual (you choose loans yourself) or automated. The interest rate varies from 6 to 21%.

You can choose standard strategies:

Diversified Conservative High Income

12.25% average interest rate

the greatest diversification

choice among all available loans

a maximum of 15% invested in a specific company

9.84% average interest rate

the offers of companies with the highest rating are taken into account

a maximum of 15% invested in a specific company

12.60% average interest rate

first, loans from companies with the highest interest rates and high scores are taken into account

a maximum of 15% invested in a specific company

You invest on Mintos in a way that suits you, choosing a manual, individual or automatic strategy. One of the main questions that surely comes to mind is: what does the withdrawal look like?

Money from loans serviced on an ongoing basis is disbursed immediately. Loans that are late in repayment are a problem. You will receive funds when the installment is paid. You can also sell such a loan on the secondary market or use the buy-back guarantee.

Capital

A modern trading platform that gives you access to 2,000 markets. Intuitive, easy to use, with the option of creating an account in PLN. Are you wondering what to invest in? Capital opens wide doors for you, from less to more risky investments.

As part of the offer trade with leverage, i.e. you can invest an amount higher than the balance indicates. But you can also be more careful by choosing the right options.

With Capital you can trade:

goods,

shares,

currency pairs,

cryptocurrencies,

indexes,

contracts for difference.

There is also a functional application at your disposal, from which you can manage your investments. Importantly, you can invest in PLN, and the minimum amount to start is PLN 400.

Plus500

Investing in stocks not only on the stock exchange, check out Plus500. You don't have to invest right away, test the Demo. This is a great way for beginner investors, you risk nothing because you are not investing real money. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

In short, Plus500 is:

access to foreign investment markets,

thousands of investment options,

low spreads,

free information from the market in the form of e-mails,

closing at the time of profit, possibly loss.

Plus500 offers extensive investment opportunities. Going beyond our market, fast and convenient transactions, also from the smartphone.

eToro

The leading social investment platform in the world. Instruments that can be invested in, similar to Plus500, are:

cryptocurrencies,

CFDs,

actions,

currencies,

raw Materials.

eToro is a platform very popular among traders, with millions of open investments, access to 140 markets and 2000 financial instruments. Importantly, the platform is equipped with functions for novice investors, as well as for those who have been investing for years, have knowledge and experience.

As a social trading platform, eToro gives investors the opportunity to exchange experiences with other investors, not only through the platform itself, but also Investing from the inside out - WSE, raw materials, cryptocurrencies and other instruments

Buffet's golden advice is not to waste money when investing. How to do it? Is investing only for the rich? What minimizes the risk? How much time will it take to invest? Can they be combined with work?

Investing is a river topic, because we have a wide range of tools. From the safe ones (the interest rate of which is better not to mention), through state treasury bonds, to stocks and investment funds.

Everyone would like to be like: John Templeton, Benjamin Graham, Peter Lynch or the aforementioned Warren Buffet. Their stories show that investing is the best thing in the world they have done for themselves. The problem is, it's not easy, and the road is not without curves.

If it were otherwise, you wouldn't be reading this today and we'd all be a millionaire. But each of us, almost - because there are exceptions, can start to multiply our fortune. How to start investing?

Who shouldn't invest?

Let's start with whether now is the best time in your life to invest? You may think so, but it won't necessarily be a good decision. Although investment in stocks, mutual funds, building your portfolio are at your fingertips, thanks to modern technology, not every moment in life is good.

Two groups of people should not invest:

Indebted Debtors whose installments begin to overwhelm. Debtors who see a chance to get out of debt in investing. Debtors who already have a bailiff are looking for a quick way to multiply cash - there is no such thing!

People with emotional problems People who experience a lot of stress on a daily basis. People who are at the stage of important life changes, a new job, a change of residence. People who struggle with emotional problems.

Apart from deposits or savings accounts, there is no risk-free investment. And investing in stocks and other instruments requires a cool calculation!

Therefore, people who are under constant stress or experience strong emotions are not able to make rational, deliberate decisions. Besides, it is harder for them to endure failure. And when investing, you need to be aware that sooner or later a bend will occur.

Before you start looking for an answer to the question of what to profitably invest in, solve your problems. Pay off your debt, stabilize your financial situation. If, on the other hand, you have a problem with emotions, take care of yourself. The time will come for investing. via social networks such as Facebook or Twitter. This makes the interaction between investors even simpler.

To trade using the eToro platform, you must be 18 years of age, be aware of the risks involved in investing, and of course register with eToro. Thanks to the various deposit and withdrawal options, you can use the platform as you like.

An interesting feature on the eToro platform is the so-called CopyTrader - for free you can copy the actions of the best investors, investing short and long term. In addition, the platform offers a lot of educational materials, in the form of text and video. More information in our eToro review here.

Both short-term and long-term investments on the eToro platform. Good news for investors is the lack of a margin on shares, among others, regardless of the amount of investment. The platform is also a proposal for people who want to invest in cryptocurrencies.

How much of your savings should you spend on investing?

When investing, stick to the rule: hurry up slowly, you can't rush anything here. And if you want to get rich quickly, you can quickly lose everything. Divide your savings into four equal parts. Invest two of them in deposits, leave one, and invest the last one in stocks and other instruments.

The option of investing in deposits certainly does not satisfy you, but it is a greater protection of your savings. Slow action is a smooth entry into the world of investments. Possible failure hurts less because the loss is smaller.

Golden rules of investing

Finally, learn a few principles that help you understand how this market works and help you make better decisions.

→ Invest only financial surplus. A safe financial cushion for everyone is the amount that will allow them to survive for half a year. Don't invest all your savings.

→ Little by little, not by handfuls. This principle applies to many aspects of life. And there is probably no better investment in investing. First of all, diversify your portfolio, i.e. buy a little bit of everything, so that in the event of a loss it will not be as painful as you invest everything in the shares of one company.

→ What is the risk - what loss will you bear? It is very important. When investing in deposits, of course, there is no such risk. However, if it is investing in stocks, then things are different. How much money are you willing to spend? Every investor has to answer this question.

→ Long-term strategies are more attractive. First of all, the market is experiencing various collapses and there are declines. But there are also increases. Therefore, long-term investments are usually the better solution. Thanks to long-term investments, you can achieve a higher rate of return.

→ Never make decisions under the influence of emotions! Shares fluctuate differently, and waiting them out can be a good profit. Therefore, one of the most important rules when investing is to observe what is happening on the market, in the company whose shares you own, and rational operation.

→ Establish an action plan. It is necessary to stick to it when emotions take over. It is also easier to achieve the goal.

→ Do not quit your job. Investing does not require a full or a half day investment. At the beginning, a dozen or so minutes a week is enough.

There is a risk involved in investing, and you must bear this in mind, but the one who does not take the risk does not win. The trick is to balance the investment amount and minimize the risk by choosing different instruments.