The economy. It’s in the news everyday; some days that is all the newscasters even get to cover. Times are tight, for everybody and the thought of investing can seem like a really bad idea, but if you research carefully and have clear, realistic financial goals in mind, investing is not only a viable option, it can be the cushion you fall back on if things get even worse.
Knowing how to choose where to invest is not easy; you cannot simply pick a stock and go. The experts agree on very few things, but among them are these concepts:
1. You cannot go it alone, especially now. It is hard even for a financial wizard to know where to invest with relative security right now, so a first time trader is going to be at even more risk for failure. Look into a stockbroker, either a full-service or a discount broker, depending on your needs. The advantage with the full-service broker is the fact that along with investing, they can give you advice on financial planning in general. These brokers are usually sitting in an office, so you could walk in and talk to one face to face if you so choose to do so. Of course, these services are not free, and that brings us to the disadvantage of the full-service broker: the cost. The discount broker offers a reduced fee for making transactions, but there is a reduction in services. For instance, if you need to communicate with these brokers, you would do so online or over the telephone. Another disadvantage is that they will not do the research on prospective stocks for you; you have to do that yourself. In the middle of the road are brokers that work between the two, offering some face-to-face contact, and limited planning advice.
2. Knowing whether you should invest in stocks or in funds. The advantage that you gain with mutual funds is the professional management of your investment. And, because mutual funds are pooled resources among countless investors with many stocks in the funds portfolios, you gain the advantage of automatic diversification. It is important to diversify- if one company type starts to show problems, another my gain strength. Because both are in the mutual fund portfolio, the troubled company is offset by the stronger one’s performance.
Regardless of whether you choose to work with a full-service broker (recommended for a first time investor) or a discount broker, it is important to know what your ultimate goals are, and to know how much you can safely afford to invest, and to lose (loss cap). Do not walk into a brokerage firm thinking you can invest your nest egg and walk away a millionaire in a matter of weeks, it just does not happen that way. Take some time to educate yourself and do not be swept up in the thrill. Remain optimistic, but realistic as well.
Do you dream of making great money with Forex Trading? The way things are, especially in today’s market conditions, the Foreign Exchange market isn’t territory you want to try and navigate without the best information and tools at hand.
I have been involved in forex for over 6 years now. I have worked for brokers. I have traded personal funds and managed funds. I also work in the futures market (mostly trading the Emini and SPI) However. My passion is trading the foreign exchange market using automated robots.