1. Learn the basics

The game has changed and it’s a win-win for investors. Just as Trade Me made it simple for everyone to buy and sell stuff online, we’ve done the same with shares. Hatch is like having Wall Street in your pocket - it’s your digital platform to buy and sell shares, and invest in the companies and brands you use every day.

We’ve lowered the barriers, culled the high fees, and we’ll help you build the confidence you need to take control of your investments and get your money working harder. In our free Getting Started Course, you’ll learn investing basics - from risks and returns, how share markets work, whether to invest in companies or funds (learn what’s the difference!), to how to create your watchlist.

Action: Join more than 20,000 Kiwis who have gone from zero to hero by taking our free Getting Started Course. We designed it to suit busy lives so it takes just 10 minutes a day, for 10 days. Or dial-up your investor confidence and crack through it in one go. You’re the boss, you decide!

2. Join Hatch for free

Take your first step. All that stands between you and getting started is 30 seconds. It’s free, painless and you just need an email address and password to start. We won’t ask for your credit card details, or your firstborn, and you’ll get full access to browse shares and start your watchlist before getting verified. Plus you’ll get an exclusive all-access pass to our Hatch Investors Club where you can talk to other investors, and grow, LOL and learn.

Action: Sign up to Hatch, peruse our Help Centre, and stay one step ahead with our weekly newsletter so you never miss a trick! And for everything else, our wonderful Wellington-based team of keen investors will answer your questions - book a call.

3. Choose some companies and ETFs

If you’re asking ‘Where do I start?’ you’re not alone (and that’s where the fun begins). One of the biggest questions we get asked is, ‘with so many companies available, how do I choose?’. Spoiler alert: there are probably as many approaches as there are investors (and Hatch has nearly 6,000 companies and funds to choose from).

The simplest path is to back what you believe. Invest in quality businesses - or a basket of businesses (ETFs) - and give them time to grow. To make your first investment, here are two easy options:

Option 1: Start with companies you know!

Think you know nothing about choosing a good investment? Prepare to be proven wrong. Check your pantry, chances are it’s full of the brands that give you the goods on the daily. Think Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Kellogs, to name just a few.

• Binge on more than just biscuits? If you’re paying for a streaming service like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime you’re already investing in the brands you love!
• How are you accessing them? Your Apple iPhone, Microsoft tablet, Google Chromecast or Roku Stick?
• Are you slipping into your Lululemons and Nikes to stretch the calves or breathe in the fresh smell of freedom?
• Still loving those work from home days and using the remote tools you can’t live without? Microsoft Teams, Google calendar or Zoom?

You know a tonne more than you might think about all these companies. You’ve resonated with how they market their products and services (and bought many of them), you know their competition (and have already chosen one over the other), you know who buys their stuff, and you’ve seen how much attention (good and bad) they get in the media.

Call it our consumer lifestyles, but just by living your life you’ve become pretty clued up on the companies you’re surrounded by.

Option 2: Spread your money across a lot of companies

If you want to spread your money across hundreds, or even thousands of the world’s biggest companies in one easy click, consider investing in a basket of them in an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF). ETFs are an investing revolution that give you a lazy set-and-forget way to put your money to work. The ETFs do the heavy lifting while you get on with enjoying life.

Action: Take the opportunity to choose and mix of companies and ETFs that interest you, and continue to watch and learn.

• Get Googling and you’ll quickly learn the go-to ETFs that investors love
• Sign into Hatch and search for companies and ETFs then add 5-10 to your watchlist

4. Deposit $100

Yes, that's right, deposit just $100 – the price of a dinner out. Think of it as an investment in your education – the first step towards a potentially life-changing investment portfolio. By starting slowly, you have the freedom to learn some investing lessons by doing, because that's how some people learn best!

Action: Deposit $100. Yep, invest $100 in your investor learning and you’ve just taken the first step in your investing journey. And this is just the beginning! You might be surprised how quickly you learn and how engaged you become in your growing portfolio.

5. Make your first investment

Crunch time. Time to give yourself the title of ‘shareholder’ (and get all the benefits that go along with owning your shares through Hatch). Review your watchlist and embrace the emotional turmoil of making the best choice. Then let it go. This is your first investment, not your last. Over the coming weeks and months, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to back as many of the companies and ETFs on your watchlist as you like. All you need to do today is pick one and buy your first shares.

Action: Sign into your Hatch account and buy shares. If you cut corners (#nojudgement) and skipped our free Getting Started Course, you’ll have missed our illustrated guide to ordering shares through Hatch – save it to your browser and use it as your reference guide as you go through the steps to place your first order.

Then, you can tick off ‘investing’ on your ‘To Do’ list! 👏 #tooeasy