Investing is a time-tested way of putting your money to work for you, as you work to earn more of it. Legendary investor Warren Buffett defined investing as “forgoing consumption now in order to have the ability to consume more at a later date.”1
By investing your money regularly, you may be able to increase it many times over with time. That’s why it’s important to begin investing as early as possible and as soon as you have some money saved for that purpose. Furthermore, the stock market is a good place to start.
Whether you have $1,000 set aside or can manage only an extra $25 a week, you can get started. Bear in mind that there’s a lot that you can and should learn about investing in stocks to achieve financial success. However, right now, read on for the steps to begin the process.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Investing is the act of committing money or capital to an endeavor with the expectation of obtaining additional income or profit.
- Unlike consuming, investing puts money to work so it can grow over time.
- However, investing also comes with the risk of losses.
- The stock market is a common way for investors, no matter their experience, to invest for a lifetime.
- Beginning investors can get help from expert advisors, leave their portfolio selection and management to robo-advisors, or take a DIY approach to investing in stocks.
”They all have different levels of risk. Once you determine your risk tolerance, you can set your investment sights on the stocks that complement it.
Timi OwopeNetworth Online
Steps to Get Started
1. Define Your Tolerance for Risk
What’s your tolerance for risk (the chance that you may lose money while investing)? Stocks are categorized in various ways, such as large capitalization stocks, small cap stocks, aggressive growth stocks, and value stocks. They all have different levels of risk. Once you determine your risk tolerance, you can set your investment sights on the stocks that complement it.
2. Decide on Your Investment Goals
You should also determine your investment goals. When opening a brokerage account, an online broker such as Charles Schwab or Fidelity will ask you about your investment goals (and the aforementioned level of risk that you’re willing to take).
- If you’re just beginning your career, an investment goal could be to increase the amount of money in your account. If you’re older, you may want to generate income as well as grow and protect your wealth.
- Your investment goals might include buying a house, funding your retirement, or saving for tuition. Goals can change over time. Just make sure that you define and review them periodically so that you can keep your focus on achieving them.
3. Determine Your Investing Style
Some investors want to take an active hand in managing their investments, while others prefer to set it and forget it. Your preference may change, but decide on an approach to get started.
- If you’re confident about your investing knowledge and capability, you could manage your investing and portfolio on your own. Traditional online brokers, like the two mentioned above, allow you to invest in stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), index funds, and mutual funds.
- An experienced broker or financial advisor can help you make your investment decisions, monitor your portfolio, and make changes to it. This is a good option for beginners who understand the importance of investing but may want an expert to help them do it.
- A robo-advisor is an automated, hands-off option that typically costs less than working with a broker or financial advisor. Once a robo-advisor program has your goals, risk tolerance level, and other details, it automatically invests for you.
4. Choose Your Investment Account
Retirement plan at work: You can invest in various stock and bond mutual funds and target-date funds through a retirement plan at work, such as a 401(k), if your employer offers one. It may also offer the option of investing in the employer’s company stock.
Once you enroll in a plan, contributions are made automatically at a level you set. Employers may make matching contributions on your behalf. Your contributions are tax deductible and your account balance grows tax deferred. This is a great way to maximize your investing dollars with little effort. It can also instill in investors the discipline of regular investing.
An IRA or taxable account at a brokerage: You can also start investing in stocks by opening an individual retirement account (even in addition to having a workplace plan). Or, you can go with a regular, taxable brokerage account. Normally, you’ll have lots of options for investing in stocks. These could include individual stocks, stock mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs), stock options.
A robo-advisor account: As referenced above, this type of account takes your investment goals and creates a stock portfolio for you.
