Shares are part ownership of a company. Direct Broking offers investors the ability to buy and sell their part ownership in listed companies on the New Zealand (NZX) and Australian (ASX) share markets and selected companies on the US (NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX) and UK (LSE) share markets.

Safe driving

The success of investing in shares is largely determined by the performance and prospects of the companies you invest in. You buy good shares through buying and retaining ownership in good companies.

Performance driven

The following data shows the quarterly growth of the NZX All Index on the New Zealand Stock Exchange from August 1998 to August 2008. It includes a drop of 19.29% within the index during the 2008 financial credit crisis. It also includes a major drop that occured during the internet crash in 2000/01.

NZX All Index - Performance over 10 years

Date	NZX All Index level	Growth over 5 years	Growth over 10 years

August 1998	1,272 points

August 2003	2,238 points	76%

August 2008	3,340 points	49%	163%

Figures correct at August 2008.
Source: New Zealand Exchange (NZX)

Despite the periods where the index has crashed, it has grown overall. While shares are a riskier investment, the message is to invest long term and live with volatility. You increase your risk of loss with shorter investment timeframes.

Profit

You make money from shares through dividend income and capital gain. Dividend income is how companies distribute profits to their shareholders. Capital gain is the growth of the share price of the company.

Risky driving

Risk, when applied to shares, is losing some or all of your money. Companies can go bankrupt, reduce in value or fail to deliver a profit to their shareholders. You can alleviate risk by learning how to invest well and by spreading your risk across a number of investments.

Start your engines

If you have worked out your risk profile (see sorted.org.nz) and have decided that DIY share investing is for you, you can find more about learning how to invest in our DIY Centre or by ordering our FREE DIY Booklet.

If you already know what you want to buy and sell you must apply to become a Direct Broking client before you can submit orders through our online DIY service.

Become a client of Direct Broking here >>

You can also view our brokerage rates here or get a snapshot of today's market activity here.


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