Principles Of Investments In The Stock Market - Part 3

By Zigfred Diaz

This is the third installment on the discussion about basic principles in stock market investing. In the previous articles, we discussed about the first three principles of investment. First, the stock market is just another vehicle of investment. Secondly, investing in the stock market is a roller coaster ride and thirdly, you must determine what type of investor you are. We continue with the next 4 principles in part 3 of this 4 part series. If you wish to view the entire article, please visit my blog.

4.) More cash more profits, but you don't need a lot to start investing. - Investing in the stock market does not require you to have millions or hudreds of thousand of pesos. My personal estimate is that you need P 20,000.00 to start trading.This is what I started with. But even if you only have P 10,000.00, you can already start trading. However that amount may be too small in my opinion. To drive the point of the above principle lets say you bought shares of Jollibee (JFC). Jollibee shares cost only 51.50 today. The board lot (the minimum amount of stocks that you could invest in) is only 100. If you calculate, you only need P 5,150 (51.50 x 100) to be "part owner" of the Philippines' number fast food chain company. Lets pretend that after 1 year the per share value of the Jollibee stocks you bought already cost P 100.00 per share, you have gained P 5,000.00 more. Imagine the profits you are making ! How much more could you have made if you invested in 200 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.) Maximizing profit at the least possible losses. - Every time you see that the price of your stock went down, relax, the loss is only on paper. Actual loss is only attained when you sell your stock at the "losing" price. Therefore never sell at a loss. It should be emphasized that the money that you put into the stock market should not be taken from your emergency fund. It should by "surplus money." Putting in your emergency savings will result in you selling your stocks at a loss if you need the money badly. The gains you received in the stock market such as sales from stocks and dividends should be utilized to purchase more stocks to maximize your profits.

7.) The stock market is not a get rich quick scheme - In all investments always take note of the principle that money takes time to grow. Those Investments that give you very high rate of return in a very short period of time are most likely investments that make other people rich, not you. Most likely it will take several months or even years in order for you to really profit in the stock market, especially in the Philippine stock market. There are times that it will just take weeks or days to really make a killing. However these are rare occasions. This usually occurs in cases like when there is a consistent bull run or that there is an unusual drop or climb of prices in a short length of time for various reasons. - 23226

About the Author:

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, financial management, business, making financial online and Stock market investing

Make The Rule Of 72 Work For You !

By Zigfred Diaz

An Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) started to work abroad. Having worked for several years there at the age of 29 had a total savings of P 100,000.00 (Philippine peso)

Since the only investment vehicle he knew about was putting his money at the bank he went to the bank and deposited his P 100,000.00. The bank manager gladly accepted the money and even recommended that he put it at a time deposit account so that it would yield a higher interest rate at 4 % per annum.

So he placed his money in the time deposit account and waited until he reached the age of 65. At the age of 65 he went back to the bank and asked to withdraw the P 100,000.00 in his time deposit account. Lo and behold his P100,000.00 already became P 400,000.00 because of the interest. So he withdrew his money from the bank and lived happily ever after.

Do you think this is a "live happily ever after"? Has this OFW "wisely" handled his money? Are you sure he is maximizing the full potential of his money or has somebody become more richer because of his ignorance ?

Under the rule of 72, in order to determine how many years it takes for your money to double you only need to follow this very simple equation: 72 / interest = No. of years it takes for your money to double

For this certain OFW, his money will double every 18 years. This is simply solved by applying the rule of 72 which is computed as follows: 72 divided 4 % per annum = 18 years. This means that if you add 18 years from the time he deposited his money, the P 100,000.00 will double to P 200,000.00 when he reaches the age of 47. After 18 more years when he reaches the age of 65, his money will already become P 400,000.00.

So what does the bank do with that P 100,000.00 ? Well, they take the OFW's money and invests it at mutual funds, the stock market, the money market, government bonds, corporate bonds and even consumer loans etc. averaging a 12 % return per annum. Using the Rule of 72, the OFW's P 100,000.00 will double every 6 years. (This is computed as follows: 72 divided by 12 % interest = 6 years)

So when the OFW went back to the bank after 36 years and claimed his P 100,000.00 the bank manager gladly gave him back his P 100,000.00 plus the interest of P 300,000 amounting to P 400,000.00. After all they already made P 6 million pesos out of the OFW's P 100,000.00. Now isn't that hi-way robbery?

If you want to be wealthy and be a better steward of your money then think like the bank! Make the Rule of 72 work for you ! - 23226

About the Author:

Are you willing to learn 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

Stock Market Basic Principles - Part 1

By Zigfred Diaz

People have been asking me lately if they should invest in the Philippine stock market or not. Majority of them also wanted to know how they should start. I am not sure if they are really serious about it. They could just be curious considering that it is all over the news that the stock market's performance is very positive.

The fainthearted has no business investing in the Philippine stock market or the stock market in general. A true investor always has expectations as to how much he will earn from a certain investment. Normally this is measured in terms of how much money will grow at a given time. (This is commonly known as interest per annum) Now that the Philippine Stock market is in its highest level for some time now, people think that they should get themselves involved. Sad to say most do not even have a grasp of the basic principles involved neither do they understand how the system works. This is not to imply that you have to be an economist before you should consider investing.

The point I am making is that you should understand the basic principles first before you will be successful in the stock market. It is true that fortunes are made on the Stock market, however there are also stories of people loosing a large amount of their money. Other who just dive into the stock market without knowing the basic principles of investment quit after some time, telling themselves that the stock market does make any money for anybody.

Let us not begin first by discussing the "how tos" in investing in the Philippine stock market. Let us first understand the basic principles of investment so that we might enjoy trading and be successful in the stock market. There are ten principles involved. We will talk about the first principle here. Other principles will follow in the next articles. Visit my blog if you want to see the whole article.

1.) You must realize that the stock market is just another vehicle of investment - There are several investment vehicles where you could place your money. One is not more superior than the other. They have their advantages and disadvantages, but this will not be discussed in depth here.

You must understand that the stock market belongs to an investment category called "Capital Markets." Capital Markets are divided further into several categories. Here alone, there are several investment vehicles wherein you could place your money. Examples of these investment vehicles aside from the stock market are real estate, pension funds, bonds, insurance, different types of savings and time deposit accounts. It is of vital importance that you know this fact because knowing the different types of investment vehicles under the Capital markets will help you evaluate whether or not you should invest in the Stock Market considering that there are other vehicles of investment.

Bear in mind that each vehicle of investment has their own advantages and drawbacks. The secret here is not to place all of your eggs in one basket. Even if most of my investments are in the Capital Markets, I diversified by placing investments in the stock market, bonds through mutual funds, pension, deposits and insurances. - 23226

About the Author:

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

Stock Market - Basic Principles - Part 4

By Zigfred Diaz

In this article we will be discussing the last three principles of investment in the stock market. In the past articles we have already discussed the first seven principles. If you want to see the entire article, visit my blog.

8.) Take time to study- Investing in the stock market requires that you should take time to study what it's all about. You can't expect to succeed if think that you can just place in your money and hope that it will somehow grow by itself. Studying a lot of books and materials on the stock market will certainly help. When I first started investing I searched for materials in the internet regarding the stock market especially the Philippine stock market. I bought the "investor's primer" from the Philippine stock exchange. This is a great material for those who are new to the Philippine stock market.

Attend seminars on stock market investments. There are several brokerage firms that conduct free seminars for newbies in stock market investing. Last year, CITISEC Online did a 2 day free seminar. I took the time to attend that seminar. This brokerage firm is one of the most innovative, active and well managed brokerage in the Philippines. The information you will learn in the seminars is very helpful. Continual study is required if you want to succeed in the stock market. Once you stop learning you stop to succeed.

Read all the materials you can and attend all the seminars you can in order to learn. Don't be discouraged when there are terms you could not understand. For example just reading this post alone, you would probably raise your hands and tell yourself not to invest anymore since there are some terms you could not understand. You don't even know what "points" are when I was talking about them in point number 2. You don't even know what the heck is the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) or what does "Blue Chips" or "Bull run" mean. Worse you don't even understand what a stock is and how it basically works. But so what? I started out not knowing what some of these things are.

Stuff like these are never taught in school. I only learned them by reading and having a hands on experience in trading. I highly suggest that you watch the movie "Pursuit of Happyness" This is a story about one man's struggle to learn the stock market. Years later he made millions through stock trading. This movie is based on a true story and is sure to inspire you!

9.) News Clues - Know today's news and use them to your advantage. There are a thousand factors that are in the news that will definitely have an effect as to which direction the market will take. The most important page that an investor should read is the business page. This will give you an idea as to which stock should be bought or sold. My preferred daily news reading is the Philippine Daily Inquirer. I get ideas here on the possible directions the market will take.

10.) Now is the best day to start - Some people say that experience is the best teacher. I agree, experience is the best way to learn. It does not matter if you start small at first, the most important thing is that you start immediately. Never procrastinate but don't rush immediately without first studying the basics. When you have already learned the basics of investments, start buying your first stock. The most rewarding thing in your career as a stock market investor is when you have profited from your first sale. - 23226

About the Author:

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

Reasons For Investing In The Stock Market - Part 2

By Zigfred Diaz

Last time we discussed about the advantages or the reasons why you should invest in the stock market. We talked about the first three which are, potential for greater returns, part ownership of the company you are investing and belonging to a special group of people. This is the concluding part of this 2 part series. If you wish to view the entire article, check out my blog.

4.) It still one of the best vehicles of investment - Even if the stock market has its up and down moments, investing long term in the stock market will still give you one of the highest returns making it one of the best vehicle of investments ever. Returns in the stock market fluctuate yearly. For example, in 1986 the Philippine stock market recorded the highest return rate at 224 %. On the other hand the lowest rate of return was in 1997 at negative 41 %. However the average return (within 20 years) is still somewhere from 24 % to 28 % per year. This means that the long term investor always wins in the long run.

5.) Helps you become more financially literate and inspires you to increase that knowledge - Investing in the stock market forces you to go over the business news. It also helps you give significant meaning to the major news headlines. News for you is not something to be discussed in chit chats, but rather you view it as something that will have an impact on how the market behaves. You are forced to understand words that are foreign to you. You will become more sharper intellectually as you are motivated to keep on reading. If you dozed off in your your economics class in high school or college, this time you will be pulling your hair apart just to figure out what inflation means. you will be motivated to become a life long student.

6.) Helps you more to become internet savvy. - It has been said that the development of mankind is divided into several ages. First we had the "stone age", then came the iron age and then the bronze ages etc. Afterwards we moved up to the industrial age. Currently we are said to be in the "information technology age." In this age, knowledge is power. This is not just considered as an adage. Rather this is the essence of the information age. Engaging in online trading will surely help you understand what this means. During the time that I was in college I wanted to invest in the stock market. The reason for my curiosity was because I always see in the movies how the traders are shouting buy or sell. However I did not invest during that time because of three reasons. First I lack the information. Secondly, I do not have the capability and thirdly I do not have the money to invest.

In today's internet driven economy, information can be accessed easily through the world wide web.Trading is made much more easier with online trading facilities. As this opportunities are presented to me, I made it a point to start investing in the stock market. Now I do all of my trading activities online such as monitoring the news, buying and selling of stocks and transferring money to my accounts. Perhaps I will someday move into global stock market trading. Despite its complications, the principles in stock market trading is still somewhat the same.

7.) Investing in the Stock Market helps build the nation -This is the most noble objective and advantage as to why you should invest in the stock market. One of the main reasons why companies want to get listed in the stock exchange is that they want to infuse more capital into their business. The reason why they want more capital is they want to expand the business. More capital means more business, more business means more jobs, more jobs means more needs of the average Filipinos are being met. More business also means more taxes for the government. In a sense when you invest money in the stock market you are actually helping create jobs and at the same time more taxes for the government. This increase in economic activity helps build the nation.

For sure these reasons certainly make a convincing argument as to why you should invest in the stock market. - 23226

About the Author:

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