Investing in the stock market is a good way to build wealth. After all, not only can it protect your money from inflation and taxes, but stocks are also an easy way to diversify your portfolio. In fact, according to Statista, 55% of adults in the United States invested in stocks last year, making it one of the top investment choices in the country.
However, with so many stock options available today, how do you know which ones to put your money in? Below are some tips.
Determine Your Investment Goals
If you want to choose the right investments, you need to be very clear when it comes to your goals. To this end, it helps to do it SMARTly: making sure that each goal is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and “Timely” (or can be measured within a given timeframe).
For example, your goal could be: “I want to invest for early retirement” – that’s specific, realistic, and achievable. Stocks that are good investments for retirement are usually those that yield high returns when left untouched for years, like utilities. To ensure that your investments are on track towards that, create a return goal that your investments are set to hit within a year, five years, or even a decade.
Seek Top-Performing Sectors
Not every sector does well; their appeal depends on how the market moves and the local economy. For instance, due to the pandemic, travel businesses experienced a drop in revenue and thus a drop in stock prices. And given the presence of the Delta variant, it’s difficult to say when things are going to look up for the travel sector.
To track the movement of different sectors, you will need to keep up with trends, do your due diligence and read the latest blogs, articles, news, and other online resources. Financial education website AskMoney provides a wealth of updates, including detailed advice on investing. Aside from featuring high-yield investors and the assets they have invested in, they also have suggested podcasts that can improve your knowledge when it comes to certain sectors. Similarly, here at Dot Com Magazine, we have published interviews with successful investors who have a wide range of financial knowledge to impart, including those related to market movements.
Take Online Investment Classes
For those without any background in investment, stocks, or finance in general, there are plenty of short online courses that can help you. Learning platform Udemy is a good place to start your educational journey. They have several investing courses for beginners, such as “Udemy’s Ultimate Stock Market Investing” that are available for less than $60. Aside from the course material itself, you’ll also get access to an extensive library of learning resources you can consult at any time.
Of course, there are also free investing courses online like “The Investing and Trading Library” from TD Ameritrade and “Investing Classroom” from MorningStar.
Choosing what stocks to invest in won’t be easy, but there is a wealth of resources online that you can consult. Plus, if you have a clear goal, it’s easy to narrow down your choices. Just be critical of what you read and weigh up your options before proceeding.
