My first ETF

So, in September I opened an account with DeGiro (www.degiro.ie), which was very quick and easy. If anyone finds a better and cheaper broker, please let me know. Overall, I am very happy with them so far. I'll provide screenshots in future posts.

On September 11, the money I transferred from my Bank of Ireland account a few days earlier (€500) had arrived and my DeGiro account was up and running. 

To some of you, €500 may seem like a very small amount but I would counter that you should never invest any money you're not prepared to lose, or that you would lose sleep over. Besides, you've got to start somewhere.

Having read up a bit on ETFs, I was interested in investing in one of them. I chose PowerShares QQQ Trust (stock symbol QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq 100 index, which has done very well since 2009. 

I bought one yes one QQQ share at $107 on September 16. I also paid a commission of €2.02, as DeGiro charge a flat rate of €2 + 0.02% for ETFs. A few days later I got an unexpected bonus, a $0.26 dividend (minus $0.04 in tax).

As I write this, my QQQ share is worth $105.50.

Please see http://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/etf.asp for more information about ETFs and do let me know if you would like me to write more about ETFs and their benefits over traditional funds.