Take Action To Succeed

More people are getting to know the value of investing in stocks these days. Consequently, a lot of public and initial public offers are becoming oversubscribed. It appears that people that we have discussed stocks with just invest in stocks because every other person is doing so or because someone has told them that investing in stocks is good. They lack understanding of some basic things in investing in stocks and do not appear to even see the importance of these things. So what are these things?

To invest in stocks we believe that you must have the following in place:

• You should have a goal in investing in stocks. why? This is what will guide you in knowing what to buy and when to sell.

• The need to watch the stocks you invest in especially when you are a small investor. What do we mean by small investor. for the purpose of this article, small investors are those that invest amounts less than hundreds of thousands or millions. The truth of the matter is that most Stockbrokers do not have the time to so dedicate to this group of investors because they make little money from them. Watching the stocks you invest in means taking time to follow up on news about the company you have invested in and how this news is affecting the price of its shares. If you cannot monitor your investments it my be best you consider investing in a mutual fund which has a fund manager to manage your investment without your input.

• The need to get a Stockbroker. Some do not realize this so they just keep investing in stocks through Initial Public Offers or Public offers and thereafter keep their share certificates in a save. Some that know about getting a Stock broker do not have an idea of the first thing they should do to get a good Stock broker or are afraid of giving their certificates to someone they are not too sure of. The truth of the matter is that for your share certificate to translate to money you must get a Stock broker because they are the only recognized agents of the stock exchange who can transact business in the stock market.

• Some rely on what employees of financial houses tell them to do and this is to the extend that they are persuaded to use their money to get private placement and afterwards share what ever proceeds they get with the financial house employee on a ratio sometimes as much as 50-50. This happens because such people are interested in investment but do not care to understand how things work and prefer an easy approach.

If you fall into any of these categories there are two options opened to you:

If you honestly know that you are lazy to get knowledge about anything or that you prefer an easy approach to issues then forget about stocks and just invest in a mutual fund where you do not need to watch anything or decide about what to invest in and when to buy or sell. Mutual funds are funds created by stock brokers, finance houses who pool investor’s funds together and invest on their behalf into different investment channels like real estate, oil and gas, stocks etc. Unlike stocks where you bear the risk yourself, the fund managers directly bear the risk. Yours is to receive your interest as per the agreed terms and conditions.

If you are really interested in investing in stocks then you must be ready to understand how it works. How can you get this understanding? Read books on stocks and the capital market or surf the net to get information on how things work in the capital market and news on stocks in your country. Subscribe to a newspaper that contains financial information like Financial Standard, Business Day, THISDAY on Sundays, etc. Discuss with people who invest in stocks and know what they are doing. Attend seminars that teach you how to invest in stocks or those that share experiences. Join an investment forum and learn the ropes. Without knowledge the people perish, so the bible says.

Good luck!

We remain deeply committed to your success,

chrisvidal