Stock Market – Basic Principles – Part 2

20.12.2009 | Author: Zigfred Diaz | Posted in Financing

This the second part of the series on the discussion of principles of investment in the stock market. This is the continuation of a four part series. We previously discussed the first principle. This involves realizing that the stock market is just another investment vehicle. You must realize that there are other vehicles of investments before you decide to invest in the stock market. In this article the next two principles will be discussed. Please visit my blog if you want to view the entire article.

2.) You must know that investing in the stock market is a roller coaster ride – One of the advantages of the stock market is that there are times when it really climbs up then really big profits are made. However when it really goes down then really big losses are also made.

So when the market goes up we take advantage of the situation by selling and when the market goes down we take advantage of the situation by buying. When I first invested in the stock market almost 2 years ago, the Philippine Stock exchange index was only about 2000 + points. I’ve seen it go up to 2500 points and drop back to the 2000 level in the middle of 2006. It then slowly and steadily climbed up to the 3200 level in the 1st quarter of 2007 and then drop in a very short period of time during the final days of the 1st quarter of 2007. It then climbed steadily to a high of 3700+ points in July 2007 but dropped below 3000 points a month after. It then climbed steadily to its highest at 3800+ points by October and dropped to its present 3600 points.

The conclusion here is that it is really a roller coaster ride. During those up and down moments of the market, profits and losses are made

3.) Long term or short term ? – You should determine what type of investor you are. Ask yourself the question on whether you are a long term investor or a short term investor. This question is very important and should be asked by every serious new investor. The reason for such is because it affects whether you should buy or sell a certain stock.

Take note that If you are a long term investor, this means means that you hold your stocks from 5 to 10 years or more. This actually means that you believe in the company that you are investing in. Since you are putting in your money for a long period of time, you must be certain that such money you put in is considered already as extra.

The advantages of long term investing is that they do not have to worry about the cumbersome day to day technical analysis that has to be monitored. There is no problem if the stock is held for a long period of time because long term investors believe in the fundamentals of the company. On the other hand a short term investor cashes in within a months time to 6 months time. If you are a short term investor, one thing that has to be considered is the monitoring of the day to day activities of the market.

Like the long term investor, you have to make sure that you can afford to put in your money for a long period of time but not as long as the long term investor. The reason for such is because during the short period wherein you plan to invest and pull out your stocks, you may incur losses during that time so you may decide to wait a little longer.

When I first invested in the stock market I said to by myself that I will be more of a long term investor. There are stock that I invest in that I consider as short term. However most of the stocks I hold are considered as medium and long term investments.

Would you like to know more about investment strategies ? Visit the blog of Zigfred Diaz where he writes about several interesting topics such as investments, money management, business, making money online and Stock market investing

Bookmark It