5 Ways to Up Your Investment Game

The best way to start your journey in the stock market is by investing in what you understand. This is one of the core principles of Warren Buffet’s investing principles. This value also subtly indicates that you should make informed decisions.

Tip: Do adequate research to ascertain your risk-return profile to be able to make informed decisions. Also, base your research on authentic sources only, and not on misleading advertisements. Mutual Funds are an alternative path to invest in the stock market, if you do not have the time to do your own stock research before investing.

To make a comprehensive effort towards building investment practices, you should consider holistic financial planning. This begins with identifying your personal goals, identifying the timeline and ascertaining the corpus requirement for these goals.

Tip: Remember that your financial goals need to be for the entire family and not in isolation. Thus, it is a good practice to involve all family members in the discussion.

Assess your risk profile, this is critical for building an investment asset allocation for a portfolio that aligns well with your financial goals. The risk profile is a function of age, the number of dependents, responsibilities, stage of life etc.

Tip: You need to periodically re-evaluate your risk profile and realign as per revised risk appetite and a change in goals or lifestyle.

Commitment and discipline are the two cornerstones of investments. Being consistent with your investments and disciplined in these approaches are the most important traits to build the best investment practice.

Tip: Do not make the cardinal mistake of abandoning your investments mid-way when something untoward happens in the portfolio or your investments fail to deliver the desired returns. This could cost you your long-term investment goals.

As part of your ideal investment practice, you will have to periodically monitor your investments, review them and reallocate as required. Monitoring your investments will enable you to evaluate whether the desired corpus can be built within the timeline. Reviewing the situation would give cues on the need for tactical and strategic reallocation.

Tip: Tactical reallocations are carried out as per the market direction to mitigate risk effectively. Strategic reallocation is conducted when there is a shift in the risk appetite of the individual.