We all know that the way to make returns higher than inflation is to invest in equities directly or indirectly. This helps investor grow their capital much faster and will help beat inflation inspite of sharp periods of decline. Direct equity investment involves buying and holding of shares of stock on a stock market by individuals and funds in anticipation of income from dividends and capital gain as the value of the stock rises.
If one remembers following points while investing in equities the chances of doing blunders reduces substantially.
1. Select stocks based on the company's performance
Collect historical data of the company in which you are planning to invest in and check their profit graph. They should be a minimum cap of around at least 20 - 25% on the returns from the capital invested by its shareholders.
Checking long term helps you assess the true value of the company while a shorter term of 6 months could just be a reflection of market mood rather than the solid foundation the company is based upon.
2. Strike the right balance and stick to it
- It is essential to take a very disciplined approach towards your stock plannhng.
- Be prepared to stumble over unexpected bumps when you start out or for that matter be prepared to be surprised from time to time as the volatility of the market is such.
- The best results await those who participate in the long drawn out game that last well over a number of years to the tune of 10-12 years to be precise.
- Strike a balance with your stocks, don’t accumulate too many and then again don’t invest in too little. A moderate diversification should be the key factor in striking this balance, i.e. perhaps say about 15 should be a good way to diversify for someone who wishes to stay invested in the long term.
- Understand the companies you are invested in and also keep a tab of the trading volumes of a particular stock purchased. This will help you estimate the percentage of active participation in that stock and is also a test of its liquidity quotient.
- Have a secure allocation plan in place, consult the experts and avoid temptation to buy too much into one single company.
3. Monitor and consistently evaluate the investments
Be in touch with every change that happens with regards to your stocks. During the lean times there might be good opportunities thrown up for the grabbing. Don’t lose sight of those if it makes investment sense for you. Figure out how you buy low at such points in time.
Keep track of the stock worth in order to determine if key elements that prompted you to buy the stocks in the first place are still secure in place or if your earlier expectations have been undermined. Keep track of the prices on your finance worksheet and subject them to a quarterly and yearly review. This will help you reassess and reallocate according your current risk capacity.
4. Errors are an individual’s portals of discovery
Your experience with stocks may be a mixed bag of both good and bad. Store away good pointers from the things that worked for you and learn from the bad experiences in perfecting your investment skills. Begin the exciting journey of making your every penny count!