‘I started playing the stock market when lockdown stopped me playing football’
Updated
In this guide
When Andrew Briggs was forced to stop playing football during Covid, he focused his attention on learning about cryptocurrency and trading instead.
Until mid-March 2020, 19-year-old technician, Andrew Briggs, from Sussex was juggling his job at a company that makes oil rig nets with his semi-professional football career at Burgess Hill Town.
“I missed the football – training, playing and watching it – but used my free time to do an online course, to learn about the basics of investing.”
Find out more: Investing for beginners course: module one
Lockdown learning
Andrew Briggs was forced to stop playing football as a result of lockdown measures introduced in March 2020.
He decided to use his spare time to learn about making money on the markets, and to ease himself into what he hopes will be a lifelong habit.
I did an online course but also attended some webinars with investor Henry Ward and followed him on social media.”
The decision to invest
In late March Andrew opened an account with etoro, an online trading platform. Investments can be made in commodities, financial derivatives, currencies and cryptocurrencies, as well as shares, and the platform works in dollars.
“I decided to start investing 10% of my earnings,” he says. “It’s better to be investing than putting it into a savings account that offers such little interest.”
Find out more: Best savings accounts in 2021
“I put $650 [£500] into a variety of investments,” says Andrew. “These were mostly shares in Tesla [the electric car-maker] and also bitcoin, but also shares in Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Spotify.
“I invested $50 in Apple, for example, and the investment is currently worth $150 [with the tech giant’s share price having soared during lockdown].”
Investing small lump sums whenever he wants allows him to limit potential losses. “I lost money on forex [the foreign exchange market] in May – but it was only a $20 loss.”
Find out more: Should you invest in bitcoin?
News addict
He admits that being glued to the news has informed his choices. “I invested $50 on April 20 in Occidental Petroleum after reading that prices were at a 50-year low – I jumped on that!
“I sold on June 11 when they gave me a return of 40%. I felt I had made enough, so sold.”
Future plans
He plans to invest more as he gets older. “I find it interesting how investing is linked to everything – the news, global events, how companies perform. it’s all relevant to the real world.”
Right now, he reinvests any profits back into his trading account. His first goal is to have enough money to move out of his parents’ house and buy his own property.
Find out more: Beginner’s guide to investing
What I did
- I became interested in investing after listening to my dad; he has been investing for two years.
- I did an etoro course over a few days, followed etoro’s markets expert Henry Ward and then attended several of his webinars.
- I constantly watched the news and stock market to try to get my head around events.
- I opened a trading account in late March and put $650 into a variety of investments.
- I look at my trading app in the evening as the US market opens at 2.30pm UK time. I look for a clear pattern or trend line and how the market moves overall.
Find out: How to invest £10,000
What worked
- Taking things slowly and mastering the basics. I have attended webinars and do my research. I trade by the book.
- I don’t overcomplicate things or take high risks. I don’t look at high-percentage trades and keep my losses small.
- If I see an opportunity according to my rules, I take it. My rules are to make safe trades – in other words, choose big companies that won’t go bust – and look for a clear pattern or trend line. I look at how the market moves overall. If there is a pullback, I try to look for a good entry point and buy when it is cheaper.
- My dad has been good to talk to about investing, having two years’ more experience than me.
What didn’t work
- Investing via a stocks and shares ISA. What interested me was the idea of learning a new skill and focusing my mind on trading and having shares in different areas, as well as being able to trade foreign exchange, which I wouldn’t have been able to do very easily within an ISA.
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