History has shown that investing in stocks is one of the easiest and most profitable ways to build wealth over time, but what is required to be a successful investor in the stock market?

Here are 8 handy tips for beginners interested in getting the most out of their money by investing in stocks:

1. Buy and hold, and hold, and hold

There’s no secret ingredient to stock market success, but perhaps, the best (and arguably, hardest to follow!) advice is to buy shares in great companies and hold them for decades.

Sticking with stocks through bear markets can be hard, but historically, patience has outperformed short-term trading. Why? Because it’s hard to know when it’s safe to buy shares after selling them, and that can lead to missing out on some of the stock market’s best performing days. For example, an investor who stayed the course through thick and thin earned a 339% return between Jan. 1, 1997 and Dec. 31, 2016; however, if they missed the 30 best performing days during that period, they’d have lost money, according to JP Morgan Asset Management.

2. Keep some cash in hand

If you’re one of those people without an emergency fund, you could be making a big mistake. The last thing you want to do is tap your stock portfolio for money during tough times. If you do, you could wind up selling shares when you should be buying them.

Similarly, it can pay-off to have a little cash handy in your investment account. Holding cash won’t earn you much of a return, but it can allow you to take advantage of the stock market’s inevitable drops. Since 1950, there have been 36 periods when the S&P 500 has fallen by over 10% and investing during those corrections improved the odds of investment success. The ability to profit from bear markets is one reason why some of the most successful investors of all time, including Warren Buffett, always keep some cash in their portfolio.

3. Don’t fear disruptive companies

Henry Ford didn’t just make cars, his affordable cars and trucks helped change America. Disruptive companies don’t come along every day, but when they do, the impact on your stock portfolio performance can be significant. Unsure what a disruptive company looks like? Think about how Amazon.com helped transform how people shop, or how Facebook changed how people communicate, or how Netflix changed how people consume entertainment.

4. Invest alongside great leaders

When you buy stock in a company, you’re trusting that company’s management to make smart decisions that grow revenue, boost earnings, and ultimately, deliver shareholder-friendly returns.

Unfortunately, not all CEOs will succeed. To reduce the risk of investing in a poorly run company, learn more about the person who runs it. Does the CEO own a lot of shares? Do employees rank the CEO highly? If a significant amount of a CEO’s net worth is tied to the company’s performance, it’s a good bet they’re as interested in increasing the company’s long-term value. Also, because great managers tend to inspire great employees, a high-rating on a site like Glassdoor can indicate a top-notch manager worth trusting with your money.

5. Diversify

It can be tempting to bet the ranch on one or two stocks, but even the best companies have seen their share prices decline by eye-popping amounts during their history. For instance, Amazon stock has dropped by 10% or more in 29 months since 1999, including 5 months when it fell by over 30%. Even scarier, Wall Street is littered with once-successful companies like Enron that went bankrupt, wiping out investors in the process.

Because share prices can swing wildly, creating a portfolio that spans multiple sectors, such as automotive, financials, and technology, and includes different sized companies, can reduce the risk you’ll lose all your money if a stock goes bankrupt.

6. Avoid profit-busting fees

When it comes to investing, there aren’t any free lunches. If you invest in the stock market through a broker, you’ll pay commissions every time you buy or sell a stock, or you’ll pay a management fee. If you use a mutual fund or an exchange-traded fund (ETF) to buy stocks, you’ll pay fees, too, even if those investments are in a retirement account.

The toll that fees take on your portfolio is significant. According to Vanguard, a person paying 2% fees on a $100,000 investment returning an average 6% annually for 25 years would end up with an account balance that’s $260,000 smaller than if they didn’t pay any fees at all.

7. Dollar cost average your investments

No one knows when the market will pop or drop and because of this, investing is risky. There’s no way to guarantee against losing money in the stock market, but dollar-cost averaging can make it less likely. Investing the same amount of money on a fixed schedule, such as monthly, means you’ll be buying fewer shares when stocks are up and more shares when stocks are down. Assuming the stock market trends up over time, dollar-cost averaging will keep your average cost low, increasing the odds of successfully making a profit.

8. Invest sooner, rather than later

The earlier you begin investing, the less you need to invest every year to reach your savings goal. For example, if you’re 25-years old, you only need to invest $500 per month to wind up with $1 million at age 65, assuming a hypothetical 6% annual return. Wait until age 35, and you need to sock away nearly $1,000 per month to end up with the same amount of money. Why the big difference? compound interest or the ability to earn interest on interest. Start investing early and your money will work harder for you.

Click here to read the original article. 

Visit www.nebafinancialsolutions.com to see our Structured Products and UCITS Funds https://www.nebafinancialsolutions.com/Risk-Rated-Portfolio-DFM, https://www.nebafinancialsolutions.com/real-asset-fund