{"id":451531,"date":"2022-05-24T14:04:41","date_gmt":"2022-05-24T13:04:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/?p=451531"},"modified":"2025-07-16T11:08:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T10:08:56","slug":"how-to-choose-your-first-investment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/share-trading\/share-trading-guides\/beginners\/how-to-choose-your-first-investment","title":{"rendered":"How to choose your first investment"},"content":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve decided you\u2019d like to start investing, you\u2019ve got yourself a handy share-trading app<\/a> and you\u2019re ready to go, but what do you invest in? Some platforms<\/a> have more than 6,000 investments to choose between, so it can be a little daunting trying to choose just one of them to start creating a portfolio. Here\u2019s how to narrow down your choices.<\/p>

Don\u2019t put too much pressure on your first investment<\/h3>

Like many first-times, your first investment doesn\u2019t need to blow your socks off. Choose something that you think you\u2019d like to buy and invest a small amount into it \u2014 the idea is to fully grasp the options that will come up when you buy and sell and understand what they all mean.<\/p>

Try to understand the order types, but leave them alone for now<\/h3>

There are a few different types of order<\/a>. For your first investment, it\u2019s a good idea to place a basic order. Once you\u2019ve given it a go, you can read about the different types of order and fully understand how they work.<\/p>

If you want to try out these order types, you could look at platforms with a demo account (we love eToro<\/a> and Trading 212\u2019s demo accounts<\/a>). These let you invest with virtual funds and they mimic the real movements in the market.<\/p>

If you\u2019d like to read more about order types, we\u2019ve explained them in step 4 of our investing for beginners guide<\/a> \u2014 you\u2019ll need to expand the \u201cjargon explained\u201d section. <\/p>

Ideas for your first investment<\/h3>

There are loads of different companies and investment types that you can choose between. Here are some ideas for choosing your first investment:<\/p>

Choose a company you know (and love!)<\/h4>

This is pretty simple \u2014 look around you. The company that makes your phone, your favourite cereal, your hair products, your car, your morning coffee stop \u2014 it\u2019s likely that a lot of these are publicly traded or owned by a publicly traded company. Your first investment could be one of these. It doesn\u2019t have to be a lot of money and you certainly don\u2019t have to hold it for very long, but it gets your foot through the door. <\/p>

Building a portfolio of these types of stocks can help you align your investments with your values \u2014 for example, if you don\u2019t like to contribute to animal testing, the chances are that you\u2019ve researched products you use to find out if the companies test on animals. If you stop liking what a company is doing, you\u2019ll stop using its products and stop investing in it.<\/p>

Invest in a fund or exchange-traded fund<\/a> (ETF)<\/h4>

This sounds a lot more complicated than it really is. A fund is a collection of investments, sometimes based on the sector they\u2019re in, the country they\u2019re based in, company size or how they score ethically.<\/p>

Exchange-traded funds are simply funds that are listed on stock exchanges. You could choose a fund or ETF in a sector you love, like technology or farming, or you could choose one that aligns with your values, like a vegan or climate focused ETFs.