What is a share portfolio?

Wednesday 23rd January 2002

Q: I have heard people talk about their investment 'portfolio' and share 'portfolio'. What are these? Is there a way for me to have a 'practice portfolio' without actually having to spend money?

A: A share portfolio is another name for a person's shareholdings. A share portfolio may only contain shares in two different companies and it may still be referred to as a portfolio. An investment portfolio could contain shares, an investment property or Government stock - basically anything that somebody considers an investment.

If you would like to play the share market or teach your children how to invest you should visit http://www.nzse.co.nz/ and visit the section on the sharemarket game. There is an entry fee but you can win shares as prizes. This game is played by high school students all over NZ.

You can also set up a portfolio by registering for free at various online broker sites. Give yourself a set amount to invest, choose some shares, put in the data and check back to see how your portfolio is doing. The portfolios link to current share prices so you can easily see if your portfolio is up or down. This is a great way to practice investing and get an idea for how the market moves.

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