Investment Strategies for Beginners

Hi Guys,

I'm currently new to the stock market and would definitely love to obtain an insight on how many people trade and perhaps the strategies they used which did or didn't work.

At the moment, I'm currently looking at long term investments. I've bought a few penny stocks in lithium and alzheimer space in addition to some energy / mining shares (e.g. ORG, S32). However, in the future, I hope to get into:

- Preferred stock, mainly for income and growth purposes. If possible, does anyone know what platform is the most suitable for this? I'm currently using CommSec but can you purchase them in the common market (please excuse my ignorance) ? Another name for it would be hybrid securities?

- Shorting, mainly for declining markets. I did a bit of research and I believe it involves borrowing shares from a broker, selling it immediately, then buying it back at a lower price? From what I've read, it seems like it is quite risky with relatively high fees? Is there a well known platform for these? are these related to CFDs?

I'm just sticking to the little stuff that I know at the moment. Please also pardon my lack of knowledge as I don't have a strong technical finance background.

Cheers