---
title: 'If I Started Investing in 2026, This Is What I Would Do (Trading 212 Beginners Guide)'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=kg8EKQd0NWQ'
video_id: 'kg8EKQd0NWQ'
date: 2026-07-18
duration_sec: 1576
channel: 'Mark Tilbury'
---

# If I Started Investing in 2026, This Is What I Would Do (Trading 212 Beginners Guide)

> Source: [If I Started Investing in 2026, This Is What I Would Do (Trading 212 Beginners Guide)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=kg8EKQd0NWQ)

## Summary

This video provides a step-by-step guide for beginners on how to start investing in 2026, using Trading 212 as the platform. The presenter outlines a simple three-fund portfolio strategy, explains how to choose a broker, open an account, and make your first investments, while also covering when to sell.

### Key Points

- **Choosing a Broker** [00:43] — Look for FSCS protection, low fees, suitable account types (e.g., Stocks ISA), a good range of stocks, and ease of use.
- **Required Documents** [02:29] — You need a valid photo ID (passport), National Insurance number, and proof of address (e.g., utility bill).
- **Account Types** [03:38] — Trading 212 offers Invest (taxable), CFD (high risk), Stocks ISA (tax-free up to £20k/year), and Cash ISA (low interest). The presenter recommends Stocks and Shares ISA.
- **Opening an Account** [06:57] — Enter email, provide National Insurance number, complete a quiz on risk, and verify identity. Use code TILBURY for a free fractional share.
- **Three-Fund Portfolio** [09:02] — A simple strategy: US stock index fund (e.g., VUAG), international stock index fund (e.g., IWDA), and bond fund (e.g., IBTM). Allocation depends on risk tolerance.
- **Buying Stocks** [12:41] — Search for a stock (e.g., Tesla), choose order type (market, limit, stop), set amount (fractional shares allowed), and confirm buy.
- **Setting Up a Pie** [16:00] — Use the pie feature to allocate percentages to funds. Example: 50% S&P 500, 40% international, 10% bonds. AutoInvest can be set up.
- **When to Sell** [19:33] — Sell if momentum is dying (hype-driven), you have a better use for capital, or fundamentals change (e.g., disruption, fraud). Avoid emotional selling.

### Conclusion

The key to successful investing is to stay invested, avoid chasing hype, and trust a simple, diversified strategy over time. Regular investing and patience are more important than trying to time the market.

## Transcript

and made multiple millions in the process. a low salary and a phone, what would I do? so today I'm gonna show you the step-by-step process
By the end of this video, avoid all the beginner investing traps, to kickstart your investing journey.
I'm not a financial advisor and this isn't financial advice. if I started again today.
and I understand why, There are so many investing platforms out there, it can feel completely overwhelming.
who say they don't know which ones are reliable, and they feel like they don't know enough Well, if I was starting again from scratch,
First, I want to be covered by the FSCS, This means if the platform goes bust, Then, I look at the fees,
Next, I'll make sure it offers the right account types, along with a good range of stocks, Now, don't worry if some of those terms don't make sense.
And finally, it needs to be easy to use, that makes investing more complicated than it needs to be. such as the ones I'm showing on the screen right now.
But if I had to choose just one as that's of course the point of this video, If you pick a different app, then that's fine.
If you use that link, to get a free fractional share later on. (upbeat music)
First is a valid photo ID like a passport Second is your national insurance number. and you'll find it just up on there.
then check your P60, tax letters, You're looking for a number like this. and then a final letter.
Something simple like a utility bill is fine. to take a quick selfie during verification. All set. Let's move on.
and making the wrong decision could end up costing you Let me show you exactly what I mean. it gives you the option to either log in
So let's just tap open account. I'm of course going to choose the United Kingdom Of course, just select where you're from.
over a hundred countries globally, Asia Pacific, and parts of Latin America. you can choose from.
I know it can seem a bit overwhelming, The first option here is called Invest. You can open as many of these accounts as you want
You can have a regular checking account with Chase, But just bear in mind, you do have to pay tax on your profits.
and the amount you have to pay varies but generally you'll pay 10 to 20% tax The second account on the list is a CFD account,
I personally never touch day trading, It's also very high maintenance. Then we have the Stocks ISA,
This is something called a tax advantaged account, and most countries have one such as a Roth IRA in America. and other assets and not have to pay tax on your profits.
But because it's such a powerful account, there is a limit. 20K per tax year into an ISA. a lot of them get confused
but that's not the case at all. a maximum of 20K in the account. The 20K limit is only on how much you can put
or how large the account balance becomes. and still not have to pay tax on your profits. I'd highly recommend this account.
where your money just earns interest Think of it like a savings account with a tax advantage. Now, this might sound like a safe and easy option,
The interest rates on cash ISAs are typically a lot lower has returned over the last 10 years. However, historically,
Don't worry if that all sounds a bit complicated. For now, all you need to know then I'd pick the Stocks and Shares ISA in a heartbeat.
So that's what I'm gonna do. and what better way to attract customers And that's exactly what Trading 212 are currently doing.
to start your investing journey. So in this step, I'm gonna be explaining to secure your free fractional share.
is just a small piece of a company. like entering an email, and providing your national insurance number.
And believe me, I do understand can feel a bit invasive and personal, for any regulated platform that offers financial services.
They'll then get you to complete a mini quiz. of the risk and see how potentially losing money the value of your investments can decrease
to make sure you understand that. that you can see here on the bottom right-hand corner It'll then take you to this page where you're greeted
Personally, I always use the instant bank transfer So let's go ahead and click Instant bank transfer
Now, you can put in as little as one pound. from the Trading 212 app and your bank. And once completed,
It should then award you a free fractional share Just click on the three lines again on the bottom right
and enter the code TILBURY, Let me know in the comments what you got. And you know what? I'll give the coolest ones an extra $100 each.
because they're suddenly faced with thousands of choices commodities, and precious metals. but it really doesn't have to be complicated.
I'd suggest you copy this simple strategy It's designed to grow steadily, survive recessions, It's called a three-fund portfolio,
a very well-known community inspired by John Bogle, and a focus on diversification,
it's perfect for the average investor who wants growth So by understanding this strategy, with one of the most reliable methods out there,
So what's actually in a three-fund portfolio? Think of a fund like a big basket and buying the basket gives you some ownership
is normally a US stock index fund, A good example of this is VUAG, The accumulation just means dividends
And when you buy a share, all at the same time. The second fund is an international stock index fund,
but instead covers companies outside the US. which helps provide stability and can help smooth out the ups and downs of the market.
how do you split your money between the three funds? Well, that all depends on your risk tolerance. might go for a split like this:
35% US stocks, 25% international stocks, and 40% bonds. 45% US stocks, 30% international stocks, and 25% bonds.
55% US stocks, 35% international stocks, And a young aggressive investor might do this:
60% US stocks, 40% international stocks, and oh, no bonds. That's because younger people have longer
Historically, with this kind of portfolio, Then you come out stronger than before. you could end up making a loss.
it's actually riskier not to take calculated risks of investing portfolio fits your situation. and actually buy some stocks.
but somewhat daunting moment for a lot of people. I was so happy and excited about the potential in some of the biggest companies in the world.
and somehow losing my money. I'm currently on the home screen of the Trading 212 app
my watch list, top winners, and so on. and instead hit this magnifying glass here, Once you've clicked that in the search bar at the top here,
So for example, let's type in Tesla. This works exactly the same way
So as you can see, if I type in Amazon... And if I type in Costco,
in individual stocks like this. and then I'll show you how to set up a three-fund portfolio. And if you decide to buy them,
as they're far more risky. Now, I'm feeling like a bit of Tesla. So let's head back to the search bar and type in Tesla.
There we go. Let's open that up and then hit Buy. where you can see the overall price of the stock, and a few different order types like market, limit,
so let's break it down. You're basically saying buy this now which means the order gets filled instantly,
If the order doesn't get executed right away, So it will go through as soon as the market opens which lets you set the maximum price you're willing to pay.
if the stock is under that price, but means it might not execute straight away. A stop order is mainly used when you want to buy a stock
You choose a stock price, a market order is triggered to buy it. but when the stock price is reached,
This gives you more control over the price you pay, If this is all getting a bit confusing, you don't need to worry about any of these too much.
A small price discrepancies won't matter much So let's make sure we're on market order a full share is currently trading at $422.
is it allows fractional investing. If you click this, you can change the investment Which one you decide to select
So if you just want to invest 100 pounds, have it on value. or half a share exactly, So now let's keep it on value and invest 100 pounds.
And then click Send buy order, and boom, just like that. We're now part owner of Tesla. Add that to your CV.
is to keep it boring. but extremely effective three-fund portfolio click this pie icon to access your portfolio,
Then click Create a custom pie. For our US stock market fund,
let's search for S&P 500. There you go. This Vanguard one will do really nicely. Now, this fund allows you to invest in a tiny piece of 500
like Apple, Amazon, and Coca-Cola. the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund, VTSAX.
across even more American companies, As lots of the top companies in the S&P 500 has started making it a bit unbalanced and reliant on those companies.
or distribution in the brackets. back into the stock automatically. Now, let's tap Add to pie to select it,
which is our international fund with the ticker IWDA and tap Add to pie. of companies from all around the world,
Japan and Canada. Now, for our bond fund with the ticker IBTM This fund is like lending money to the US government.
which helps keep your money safe and steady We can click Continue to go to the next step.
of your money to each fund. As most of you will probably be on the younger side, Let's make the S&P 500 50%, the iShares world fund 40%,
and the bond fund 10%, and click Next. you can open it up and then select AutoInvest And it also gives you this really cool value projection,
based on historical averages. as investments can rise and fall, of how much you could make based on data-backed projections.
I mean, say we invested 250 pound a month for 20 years. This says that you will only have invested 61,000 pound and your portfolio could be worth 262,000 pounds.
and expand it to 500 pound a month, that could give you a portfolio worth of 525,000 pounds, It's worth having to play around with this
with a relatively small amount invested per month. but knowing when to sell is just as important,
The thing is, selling usually goes against our instincts. or it's just a paper loss. we hesitate because we don't wanna sell too soon
who famously says his favorite holding period is forever, I like to joke that my Sell button is broken, I've made millions in the markets,
for the wrong reasons can cost you just as much So if you're serious about investing, protect your money, and move into better opportunities.
Reason one is if momentum is dying. First, there's fundamental value, based on real numbers like assets, revenue, and profits.
when deciding if a stock is a good long-term investment. based on short-term supply and demand, It's les about what the company is actually worth
This is where technical analysis comes into play. and historical data to predict A stock's price can temporarily rise or fall,
but because traders are making moves which is driven by hype, trends and emotions. not because of solid fundamentals or technical patterns,
But why does this matter? rather than real value, its price is fragile. You can spot the risky momentum stocks
or Stocktwits to see how much online attention they have. it's probably not gonna last. but when the reality
So how do you protect yourself from a similar situation? this is when you should consider selling a portion,
Momentum always fades eventually. because they got caught up in the diamond hands culture, Don't let that be you.
One of the best reasons to sell but because you have a better use for the capital. to something with even more potential.
If you're about to buy a great property deal holding onto that stock that could drop in value The same applies if you're starting a business
could mean missing your opportunity altogether. and reinvest in businesses I control On that note,
then I'm actually running a completely free walking you through the number one business model to start with no previous experience or startup capital.
where you can secure your free ticket. has shifted against you. completely alter a company's future.
it's usually best to get out before things get worse. selling airlines during COVID. Or when he dropped Tesco's after an accounting scandal.
Personally, I remember when smartphones came out Because of this, traditional printed media took a hit, Now, how can you tell if something like this is happening?
I like to ask myself a few things to answer this question. to a disruptive competitor? like any fraud, mismanagement, or reckless expansion?
due to technology or industry trends? If the fundamentals change, Being willing to cut ties when the market tells you to
So let's say you've decided to sell a stock Well, you'll need to go onto the Portfolio tab then just tap on the stock you'd like to sell.
and then press the big Sell button It then gives you all of these different options like market, limit, stop, and stop limit.
just in reverse, as you're selling and not buying. but if you wanna experiment with the others, you want to sell,
this won't happen immediately if the market is closed. and hardly ever sell my stocks,
As the old saying goes, because time is the only thing you can't fake. opinions, or emotions.
The people who win aren't the smartest, They're the ones who stay invested. Stop chasing hype and trust a simple system long enough
So if you earn money, invest regularly, You're already using the same strategy If you wanna find out why AI is changing how I invest,
Make sure to subscribe I'll see you over there.