Mark Zuckerberg

DAVID Fincher’s Facebook movie ‘The Social Network’ saw its UK release this week, and is currently enjoying numerous BAFTA and Oscar nominations.

The Social Network documents (and dramatizes) the founding and subsequent success of Facebook by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg.

Fincher’s kinetic drama follows Zuckerberg and his pal Eduardo Saverin, who was Facebook’s first investor – helping the future billionaire finance the site in its early days.

In the film, an adaptation of the book ‘The Accidental Billionaires’, Saverin invests $19,000 in the site before the arguments over monetizing the site start to drive a wedge between the co-founders.

The drama escalates as Saverin begins to feel like he is losing grip on his investment, particularly after Napster-founder Sean Parker starts working with Zuckerberg as an adviser.

Eduardo is edged out after a hedge-fund investment dilutes his shares. The movie is structured around the deposition hearings that would follow, as Saverin attempts to claim back his shares in Facebook.

Whether the movie is completely accurate in its depiction of the meteoric rise of Facebook or not, only those closest to the company will know, but in reality – Eduardo Saverin reportedly owns a 5% share in Facebook, worth around $2.5 billion, as of January 4 this year.

Not a bad return on investment for an initial $19,000.

The rest of us aren’t going to be as lucky as Eduardo, and won’t be given the chance to invest in such a once-in-a-lifetime digital juggernaut.

But if, after watching the movie, you’re thinking about making investments yourself – here’s a look at some investments you can legitimately make.

Individual Savings Accounts come in two flavours: cash ISAs and stocks and shares ISAs. ISAs are tax-free, meaning they are not subject to income or capital gains taxes.

Every adult in the UK has an ISA allowance each tax year. For this tax year (ending April 5, 2011) you can invest £10,200.

Here’s where the difference between a cash and a stocks and shares ISA comes in. You can put the entire amount in a stocks and shares ISA or you can split the £10,200 up and put up to £5100 in a cash ISA.

In the new tax year, starting April 6 2011, you will be able to invest a total of £10,680, tax-free.

Stocks and shares ISAs aren’t a good investment for everyone though, and are generally advised only to those who intend to invest for at least five years – because stock markets go up as well as down, meaning you could stand to lose money.

But, a stocks and shares ISA keeps more of your money out of the tax man’s hands than a cash ISA does because equities, over time, tend to yield higher returns than cash. The Government likes these kinds of investments as it lowers the chances of people being reliant on the state in the future.

As with Eduardo’s investment, however, there are on guarantees with a stocks and shares ISA, so if you don’t like the idea of the risk associated with the changing markets, then it probably isn’t for you.

Once you get into the world of stocks and shares ISAs, there are a variety of types of investments you can make, and you would be wise to do your homework – or perhaps speak to a financial advisor before committing.

Many stock experts offer their views on market everyday. Some of those views are absurd in nature and do not make any sense at all. To any investor his own knowledge is the best asset. You must use your own methods of finding and spotting the stocks which have potential to grow. Market always has such stocks which are selling at low price and but can give you good returns in long term. Many investors follow the rule that when everyone says “Buy”, it is the time to sell and when everyone says “sell”, it is time to buy. The method has not been tested to be foolproof. A fundamentally strong stock backed by good management will always grow and it will be able to sustain the pressures and other factors. Any downside in stock market, gives you good opportunity to grab your stocks which you always wanted to buy. Many investors in Arab world follow this method. It is no big surprise, during recession; investors from gulf countries make smart investments because stocks of blue chip companies come cheap during the period. Let your experience and knowledge be the guide to make you winner in this exciting market.