Question:
How do I get into buying shares on the stock market; do I need a broker or can I invest directly with the JSE and how does one gain the knowledge on how to manage one's shares?

I just want to buy shares here and there ? not invest say R500 a month to trade online. How do I go about it?

Answer:
If you want to buy individual stocks you will need to go through a broker. The most cost effective way of doing this is to go through an online brokerage. A full service broker will require you lodge at least R5000 to open an account. The minimum transaction cost for buying shares is around R120, so buying small lots of shares is expensive.

It is a good idea to save up at least R10 000 before you start investing. There are many books available on the art of investing, so you could start there.

If you want to invest in shares generally and you don?t want to go through a broker, you should look at Satrix. Satrix securities are listed Collective Investment Schemes that replicate the dividend and price performance of a particular index. The are listed on the JSE and traded like any other JSE listed security.

They provide the same returns as would be received had the investor directly purchased shares in each company in the relevant JSE index. The JSE, in collaboration with FTSE, determine a number of indices which are used as barometers of the market (or sectors thereof).

The most popular of these are:
TOP40 (Top 40 listed companies index)
INDI25 (Top 25 listed industrial companies index)
FINI15 (Top 15 listed financial companies index)