Investing money in stocks and other securities doesn’t have to be complicated.
Risk Tolerance for Investing
Before creating your investment plans, determine how comfortable you are with risk regarding investing. Maybe you’ve already taken one of those ubiquitous risk management quizzes you see on the internet. Although there are a few good ones, I find many of them unhelpful and even silly.
I favor you assessing your own risk tolerance for investing. It’s important you get it right; Otherwise, you’re less likely to stick with your investment plan when the going gets tough.
Risky to Not So Risky Ratio
What’s the first step in creating your investment plans after determining your risk tolerance? Determining your risky to not-so-risky ratio for next year. This alliterative ratio should consider both risk tolerance and time horizon in the first year and all subsequent ones.
Dynamic Diversification
Next, make sure you add plenty of dynamic diversification to both the risky and the not-so-risky sides of your ratio. This ensures a smooth landing and increases the chances of you achieving your goal despite possible negative market conditions.
Rebalance and Reassess
After initial setup, only occasional tinkering with your plans is necessary, freeing up your time for other less boring activities. At least once a year, however, you absolutely must rebalance and reassess your investment plan. If you don’t, you could violate tenet number 2 on my list of 5 Tenets of Successful Stock Investing, which you never ever want to do.
Getting More Involved
My One-Stop-Shop Investment Plan is among the simplest of investment plans yet yields great results with minimum effort. Getting More Involved with your investment plan might mean tinkering with it a little or a lot: It’s up to you to choose your level of involvement. Just be sure you have the extra time to commit to performing the extra management duties.
The strategies presented here are the same ones I use. They’re also utilized by many successful professional traders and are based in part on Modern Portfolio Theory and the science behind it. Use your favorite search engine: There are lots of online resources to help you understand it better. Or click on the external link above.
Becoming Financially Independent
These strategies are not the next new get-rich-quick scheme, app, or gimmick. They will, however, build your wealth faster regardless of your accepted amount of risk, be that super-aggressive, super-conservative, or somewhere in between. And they’re designed to maximize your returns no matter what your stage in life: Just getting started, mid-career, approaching retirement, or already retired.
DIY Stock and Securities Investing is book 3 in my 3-book series Becoming Financially Independent. Purchase an e-book or paperback.