As an investment advisor with the Equity Movement Entreprises, I have often seen people pay close attention to everything that is happening to the markets, be it in the stocks market, the real estate market, and so on. Well, I cannot blame them, after all, we’ve been taught that a “savvy investor” does not take anything for granted or let anything pass him by! With all the fuss in the markets, it is easy to get lost in the mix, and it is worse right now. Earlier, we used to get market updates through the mails on a monthly basis, but today, we can watch the changes in the market values instantaneously.
As such, it is important to filter what comes in and the information you should be consuming to avoid getting confused and in this article, I will show you the 6 things you shouldn’t care about as an investor.
Tip #1: Care less about other people and focus only on yourself
One thing that will bring you financial turmoil is getting concerned about how other people are doing, especially where they are doing much better than you are. It is important to know that there will always be people who will be ahead of you in everything, be it success, prestige, money, and accolades. This in most cases is easier said than done but quit worrying about how other people are doing and start focusing on what you should be doing to make it better.
Tip #2: The Amount of Time You Have Invested
In the stock investment world, trying harder doesn’t translate to better results, in fact, it leads to poor performance. It is important that you recognize that you will; not get extra points for the degree of difficulty when it comes to stock investment. Most of the savvy stock investors are better served and get better results doing less than doing more.
Tip #3: Chasing Performance
It is so common to find many investors choosing classes, strategies, managers, and even funds on the basis of current strong performance. You will often hear most say, “I am really missing out on great returns.” this kind of thinking has led so many to financial turmoil because the decision usually is purely based on a single factor.
Assuming that a particular class of asset has been performing really well for the past 3-4 years, one thing is certain, that we should have invested in that class 3-4 years ago. The cycle or the factors leading to this best performance of the class may be ending and investing in it will lead to a financial massacre.
Tip #4: Financial Advice From People who’ve Already Made It
People who have already made it financially usually offer the worst investment advice and the reason for this is that they are really so out of touch with normal people to provide actionable information and advice.
Again, in most cases, billionaires will tell you things that they themselves do not actually put to use. If you want real advice from successful people, watch what they do and not what they say. Additionally, remember, these successful people do not know your financial circumstances thus cant offer you any actionable advice.
Tip #5: How Much you Could Have Made If You Invested a Certain Amount
This is a comparison that will leave you bankrupt within no time! Say if you invested about $10K into a stock, which eventually shot up more than 1,000%, you would have been wealthy, well that may be true but before investing, make sure that you do your due diligence. First, learn about the market then invest based on the knowledge you have amassed. The fantasies of “I wish I would have invested more” will serve you no purpose unless you spot them and act ahead of time.
Tip #6: Not considering Your Time Horizon
Most investors will invest without a time horizon. It is extremely important to consider the time, effort, and money that you will be locking up into an investment before actually committing yourself to that trade. Your time horizon determines how long you have to do something, say invest or save up to do something.
If you are planning to accumulate enough to buy a home, your time horizon could be that of a medium-term time frame, if, on the other hand, you are planning a save for retirement, that would be considered a long-term investment and therefore, what happens to the stock market should not be of a big concern to you.
