A share is simply a divided-up unit of the value of a company. For example, if a company is worth £100 million, and there are 50 million shares, then each share is worth £2 (usually listed as 200p). Those shares can and do go up and down in value for various reasons.

Companies issue shares to raise money and investors (that’s you) buy shares in businesses because they believe the company will do well and they want to ‘share’ in its success.

There are two options when buying shares, you can either:

1. Own shares yourself; or

2. Pool your money with other people in a collective investment known as a fund
For first-time investors pooling your money is a slightly safer option as you’re not putting all your eggs in one basket (as you’re not just investing in one company) and it means you can ride out any bumps in the market.
The easiest and cheapest way to buy shares is online from what’s called a ’share dealing platform’.
There’s the main stock exchange – the London Stock Exchange, where you get a whole host of companies including the really big players such as Marks & Spencer. Then there’s the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), which lists smaller developing companies that you may not have heard of.

Trading in shares is a good way to make a return on your money ; with all of the different products, brokers and trading terms used by investors, finding out how to buy shares can be a bewildering process .
Buy shares ...what should you know?
Stocks and shares considered as terms for the units of ownership in a company ; as a company’s market value goes up and down, so does the price of its shares ; investors buy and sell those shares in order to making an amount of profit, which is known as ’share dealing’.
What is a stock market?
The stock market is a term for the global network of stock exchanges .
Stock exchanges have regulations for both the companies that list on them and the dealer who is allowed to trade directly with them.
Stockbroker : At the point when an individual financial specialist needs to purchase or offer a few shares, they will regularly put in a request with their intermediary containing directions on the amount to exchange and what cost to pay. The representative will then transfer those directions to a merchant on the applicable trade, who will convey them out.
Types of brokers : there are three main types
1 Full service brokers
2 Execution-only brokers
3 Advisory brokers

The secret to making money from buy shares and investing in bonds was summed up by the late father of value investing. "The real money in investing will have to be made – as most of it has been in the past – not out of buying and selling, but out of owning and holding securities, receiving interest and dividends, and benefiting from their long-term increase in value." To be more specific, as an investor in common stocks you need to focus on total return and make a decision to invest for the long-term, which means at an absolute minimum, expecting to hold each new position for five years provided you've selected well-run companies with strong finances and a history of shareholder-friendly management practices.