Because investing is not a sure thing in most cases, it is much like a game - you do not know the outcome until the game has been played and a winner has been declared. Anytime you play almost any type of game, you have a strategy. Investing isn't any different - you need an investment strategy.
An investment strategy is basically a plan for investing your money in various types of investments that will help you meet your financial goals in a specific amount of time. Each type of investment contains individual investments that you must choose from. A clothing store sells clothes - but those clothes consist of shirts, pants, dresses, skirts, undergarments, etc. The stock market is a type of investment, but it contains different types of stocks, which all contain different companies that you can invest in.
If you haven't done your research, it can quickly become very confusing - simply because there are so many different types of investments and individual investments to choose from. This is where your strategy, combined with your risk tolerance and investment style all come into play.
If you are new to investments, work closely with a financial planner before making any investments. They will help you develop an investment strategy that will not only fall within the bounds of your risk tolerance and your investment style, but will also help you achieve your financial goals.
Never invest money without having a goal and a strategy for reaching that goal! This is essential. Nobody hands their money over to anyone without knowing what that money is being used for and when they will get it back! If you don’t have a goal, a plan, or a strategy, that is essentially what you are doing! Always start with a goal and a strategy for reaching that goal!
The Importance of Portfolio Diversification
"Do not put all of your eggs in one basket!" You have probably heard that over and over again throughout your life and when it comes to investing, it is very true. Diversification is the key to successful investing. All successful investors build portfolios that are widely diversified, and you should too!
Diversifying your investments might include purchasing various stocks in many different industries. It may include purchasing bonds, investing in money market accounts, or even in some real property. The key is to invest in several different areas - not just one.
Over time, research has shown that investors who have diversified portfolios usually see more consistent and stable returns on their investments than those who just invest in one thing. By investing in several different markets, you will actually be at less risk also.
For instance, if you have invested all of your money in one stock, and that stock takes a significant plunge, you will most likely find that you have lost all of your money. On the other hand, if you have invested in ten different stocks, and nine are doing well while one plunges, you are still in reasonably good shape.
A good diversification will usually include stocks, bonds, real property, and cash. It may take time to diversify your portfolio. Depending on how much you have to initially invest, you may have to start with one type of investment, and invest in other areas as time goes by.
This is okay, but if you can divide your initial investment funds among various types of investments, you will find that you have a lower risk of losing your money, and over time, you will see better returns.
Experts also suggest that you spread your investment money evenly among your investments. In other words, if you start with Rs.100,000 to invest, invest 25,000 in stocks, 25,000 in Mutual Funds, 25,000 in bonds, and put 25,000 in an interest bearing Fixed Deposit account.
Stock Market Investment Strategy
Buying and selling of shares happen in Stock market. A share of stock is the smallest unit of ownership in a company. If you own a share of a company's stock, you are a part owner of the company.
If the company loses a lawsuit and must pay a huge judgment, the worse that can happen is your stock becomes worthless. The creditors can't come after your personal assets.
There are two types of stock: Common stock , Preferred stock . Most of the stock held by individuals is common stock . NYSE, NSE, BSE etc..are few places where trading of stock happens.
Why Investing In Stock Market?
Investing is the proactive use of your money to make more money or, to say it another way, it is your money working for you. Investing is different from saving.
Saving is a passive activity, even though it uses the same principle of compounding. Saving is more focused on safety of principal (the amount you start out with) and less concerned with return.
Investing in stocks means you are partial owner of a business. Whenever management distributes profit as dividend you will get it. This is called dividend income - a best strategy for passive income. This is best suited for retirement income planning.
As per history, if you compare Return of Investment of stock market to that of high yield bond investment i.e. "junk" in every decade for last 100 years, investing in stock market outperforms others 8 out of 10 times by a fair margin. If your investment horizon is 20 years, statistically return of your stock portfolio will at least beat inflation.
How you Should Invest in Share Market?
Budgeting eats your time. Instead of following complex and boring expense tracking, you simply follow the financial strategies of pay your self first. You should investment at least 30% of your savings in blue chip companies and 20% to high dividend yielding stocks. On Line Investing in stock market is the best way to invest.
How to do Portfolio Management in stock Market?
You should carefully look around your daily life. You will notice what you use daily and what other people are using. This observation will give you fair amount knowledge to those products and companies. Try to understand business model of those companies. Gather more knowledge on those companies.
Understand company's balance sheet & Profit- loss statement. Look for Profitability in business, cash in hand, auditor's report, director report of the company. Try to understand the business model of the company and management team. Check return on asset. price/earning, return on equity and credit management of the company for last 5 years. Check analyst report on forward p/e.
If all these are satisfactory, invest in the company. Like these you need to find 6 to 9 companies from 5 sectors like Energy, Oil and Gas, FMCG, Service Sector, Biotech. Pharmaceutical, Bank, entertainment, IT industry and Insurance.
Your investment philosophy is to own a small part of the company for 20 years. This ownership mentality will really give you money in the long run.
In the high bull market do partial profit book regularly. If market sentiment is strong bull, buy option. If market sentiment is strong bear buy put option. Use 5% of your money in option trading. Option trading basically used to hedge your asset and also make some speculative gain.
In strong bear market, your blue chip companies can generate good income if you use covered call option regularly. It's not difficult to get 40% p.a. ROI by writing Covered Call Option.
Money Management tricks for you to ride Bear - Bull of Stock Market
1. Never investment more than 50% of your savings in stock market
2. It is necessary to invest in speculative investment for big money but never invest more than 10% of your portfolio.
3. Get out of loss making investment. It will protect you from bigger loss and the loss you can offset against your profit in your tax return.
4. Do not make buy decision out of greed.
5. Do not take sell decision under panic
6. Understand the market and where you investment with clear objective why you are investing.
Both Alex Gwen Thomson & Arindam Chattopadhyay are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Alex Gwen Thomson has sinced written about articles on various topics from Home Management, Income Tax Return and Wrinkles. ArthSutra is premier site for to retail and institutional Investors.. Alex Gwen Thomson's top article generates over 673000 views. to your Favourites.
Arindam Chattopadhyay has sinced written about articles on various topics from Flirting Tips, Retirement and Stock. Author is a wealth Advisor. He helped people to accumulate wealth under different challenging market situation.Please visit his website
Bible Verse For Comfort After the first coat of paint dried, a second one was applied. The remodelling of the windows was a real success and made it much more comfortable inside during the cold winter months