Saturday, December 19, 2009

Stock Market - Basic Principles - Part 3

By Zigfred Diaz

This is part three on our discussion about the basic principles of investing in the stock market. Previously, the first three principles of investment was discussed. The first principle given was that you must realize that the stock market is just another vehicle of investment. The second principle dealt with realizing that investing in the stock market is a roller coaster ride. The third principle talks about determining what type of investor you are. In this article the next 4 principles will be discussed. Please visit my blog should you wish to view the entire article.

4.) You must realize that investing in the stock market does not take a lot of money but if you really want to make an impact on your portfolio you have to place in a substantial amount. - You don't need millions or hundreds of thousands of pesos to invest in the Philippine Stock market. You only need at least P 20,000.00 to somehow play it out. I started out with only this amount. In fact you can invest if you only have P 10,000.00 but for me that is too small an amount. For example Jollibee (JFC) shares cost only 51.50 per share as of today. The board lot (which is the minimum amount of stocks that you could invest in) is 100. 51.50 x 100 = P 5,150.00. This is the only amount you need to be a stock holder of Jollibee. Let's say in 1 year time Jollibee stocks climbed to P 100.00 per share, you have gained P 5,000.00 more. But if you had invested 200 shares you could have gained more than just investing in 100 shares.

5.) Be consistent in your investment - Start small but do not stay small. You must have the discipline to consistently invest a certain amount of your income to the stock market. This way you can have more capital thereby growing your portfolio. Over the years, I have slowly added to my investment. I did not stay at P 20,000.00. The act of investing should become your habit, and I say it is a good habit to develop.

6.) Minimize your losses, Maximize your profits - The loss is only on paper if your stock goes down. The actual loss occurs when you sell your stock at the "losing" price. The best thing to do therefore is to never ever sell at a loss. This is the reason why it is very important that the money that you invest in the stock market is considered as surplus money, not your emergency fund. If you invest your savings or emergency fund, you will be forced to withdraw sell your stock at a loss if you desperately need the money. To maximize your profit you must utilize profits you gained from the sales of stocks and the dividends you receive to buy more shares of stocks.

7.) You must realize that the stock market is not a get rich quick scheme - Don't ever expect to get rich overnight in the stock market. In all investment scheme always remember that money takes time to grow. Investments that give you unbelievable rates of return in a very short period of time are mere scams. The stock market, especially the Philippine stock market takes several months or even years in order for you to really profit. There may be times that it will just take weeks or days perhaps but these are rare occasions like when there is a consistent bull run that is going on or that there is an unusual drop or climb of prices in a short period of time. - 23210

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