How to buy Apple stocks & shares (AAP)

It is the largest company in the world by stock market capitalization. Its suite of products includes the iPhone, iPad, iMac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV. It also produces various consumer and professional software applications, such as iOS, macOS, iPadOS, watchOS, iCloud, AppleCare, Apple Pay, and accessories.

Apple sells and delivers digital content and applications through the Apple Store, Apple Arcade, Apple News+, Apple Fitness+, Apple Card, Apple Pay, and Apple Music.

These are Apple’s latest performance figures for the last quarter of last year, published on February 3, 2023.

Looking ahead, with high inflation and rising interest rates reducing advertising budgets, Apple is likely to face similar headwinds as its peers. It will continue to face stiff competition for social media users from the likes of YouTube, TikTok and Snapchat.

While the cost of living may be lower and phone upgrade cycles may be longer, Apple benefits from higher customer loyalty, especially for iPhones. Overall, Apple is forecasting continued revenue growth, although growth in its services division is expected to decline.

Here’s what you need to know about buying and selling Apple shares.

Investing in share based investments can be a good way to generate higher returns as compared to cash based investments. However, your capital is at risk, your investment may go down as well as go up, and you may not get your money back. If you are unsure about the right investments, you should seek financial advice.

Before deciding to open an account, you should determine your investment goals, which include the amount you want to invest, the amount of time you plan to invest, whether you are comfortable with the risks involved And you can afford to lose some, or all, of the money.

If you are looking to buy Apple shares, the following steps will guide you through the process:

Whether you are an experienced stock trader, or a beginner, you will need to open an account with a trading platform.

It is worth taking the time to review the costs involved – most, but not all, platforms charge share trading fees and some may even charge an annual platform fee for holding shares.

There are a variety of trading platforms available, from online DIY platforms such as Hargreaves Lansdowne, AJ Bell and Interactive Investor to app-based platforms such as eToro and Trading212.

The ticker symbol for Apple Inc. is AAPL. Apple is traded in the US on the technology-focused Nasdaq exchange, which is open for trading Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Eastern Time).

Most trading platforms allow you to buy US shares. You will be charged a foreign exchange fee (usually around 1%, but can range from 0.15% to 1.5% depending on your platform). Many platforms also charge slightly higher trading fees for buying US shares.

If you plan to trade US stocks regularly, it’s worth a look. best trading platform Because there can be a huge difference in their fees. Some trading platforms, such as IG, allow you to hold your account in US dollars which can reduce the amount of foreign currency you pay.

You will be requested to fill out a W-8BEN form, which allows you to reduce withholding tax from 30% to 15% for qualified US dividends and interest.

If you own US stocks you will also have a foreign exchange risk. If the pound weakens against the dollar, your shares will be worth more in pounds sterling (and vice versa).

As with UK shares, any gains on US shares will be subject to capital gains tax, which will be subject to your annual allowance (currently £12,300). If you hold shares in Individual Savings Account or Self-Invested Individual Pension, you will not have to pay capital gains tax.

To learn more about Apple, visit the company’s Investor Relations page.

It’s also worth comparing Apple’s valuation to that of other comparable US technology companies. One way to look at the relative price-earnings ratio is that stocks trading at a higher price-earnings ratio tend to have higher expectations of significant future growth.

Another useful research tool is the broker’s 12-month stock price forecasts, which are available on financial websites. There are currently more than 40 brokers following Apple shares, and their price forecasts indicate both upside and downside risks to the Apple share price over the next year.

People buy stocks either as a one-time purchase, or drip-feed their investments on a monthly basis over time.

Monthly investments are often referred to as a means of ‘pound cost averaging’, making regular contributions to help weather the ups and downs of the stock market. This provides some protection if the share price drops after you buy the shares, as you will effectively be investing at the average share price over the entire period.

However, if the share price is rising and you can afford to pay more in share trading fees, drip-feeding your investments may sacrifice capital growth.

Once you are ready to buy shares in Apple, log in to your trading account. Type in the ticker symbol AAPL and the number of shares you want to buy, or the amount of money you want to invest.

Many platforms also allow you to add a ‘stop loss’ after buying a share, which allows you to limit your losses if the share price falls. For example, if you buy shares at £100, and set a stop loss of £90, your shares will be sold if the share price falls below £90, reducing your potential loss to 10%. will be limited.

Whether you hold shares in just a few companies or many, you should review how your shares are performing on a regular basis.

Monitoring your portfolio allows you to make necessary adjustments, whether buying additional shares, or selling part of your holdings.

When you want to sell your Apple shares, log in to your trading platform, type in the ticker symbol (AAPL) and select the number of shares you want to sell.

If you have made a profit, you may have to pay capital gains tax (CGT) on the sale of your shares. However, as mentioned earlier, this is not the case with tax-exempt wrappers such as individual savings accounts.

You can make a profit if you invest in shares of Apple, however, holding shares in an individual company is more risky than investing in a broad range of stocks. A diversified portfolio should also reduce volatility.

One option is to invest in Apple indirectly in a fund, investment trust or exchange-traded fund (ETF) that holds shares of Apple. These products provide a ready-made portfolio of stocks in many different companies.

There’s a wide range of options, including global and US funds and investment trusts with ETFs that track the S&P 500 index. However, you will pay an annual management fee to hold these products.