Having invested money for around ten years, my main tip would be to get started in any way you can. It’s also a good idea to invest small amounts to begin with as it’s likely you’ll make mistakes at the beginning and you don’t want to risk losing a large amount you can’t afford. When starting out, aim for platforms that don’t charge trading fees (charges to buy and sell funds or shares). If you invest £100 in shares on the Hargreaves Lansdown platform, for example, you’d pay £11.95 in commission and this would immediately leave you down 12%. If you wanted to sell these shares, you’d be down another £11.95. So £24 of your £100 would be lost to trading charges alone. Using a platform such as eToro, Trading 212 or CMC Invest instead means you’ll not be charged any trading fees – which is quite useful when starting out. For many beginner investors, investing in a simple tracker fund is often the best way to get started. A tracker fund, or index fund, simply aims to mirror an index such as the S&P 500 or FTSE 100. You can even invest in a global tracker like the FTSE All World. This is a great way to get exposure to many markets and companies at low cost. Platforms such as Hargreaves Lansdown, Fidelity and Vanguard don’t charge trading fees for funds. You will pay fund management fees, but these are typically less than 0.7% a year in total, but can vary between funds. ETFs work in a similar way to index funds, allowing you to track a stock market, industry, or theme of stocks. They are traded on a stock exchange in the same way as company shares. Keep in mind that you may pay trading fees depending on the investment platform you’re using. Commission-free investment platforms such as Trading 212 and eToro typically don’t offer funds but do offer ETFs which still allows investors to get exposure to a diversified portfolio.