People need to research before investing because they need to be informed about what they are investing in and what the risks are.
There are many things to consider when making an investment, such as the company’s financial stability, the type of investment, and the risks involved. Doing research beforehand can help investors make more informed decisions and avoid potential losses.
The same can be said about the basic investment principles. Here are 15 crucial questions and their answers before you start your investing journey.
Why do I need to invest?
One of the main reasons you need to invest is because it allows you to grow your money. When you invest, you are essentially putting your money into something that has the potential to grow over time. This is unlike a savings account, which typically only offers modest interest rates and doesn’t offer the same potential for growth.
Why can't I just put my money in a savings account?
While a savings account is a good way to store your money and keep it safe, it’s not an effective way to grow your wealth over time. Investing offers the potential for much higher returns than a savings account, which means that you can grow your wealth much more quickly by investing rather than saving.
Why is it important to diversify my investments?
Diversifying your investments is important because it helps reduce risk. When you diversify, you are spreading out your investments so that they are not all in one place. This means that if one investment loses value, not all of your investments will be affected.
Why should I only invest in what I know?
Some people say that you should only invest in what you know because it’s easier to make informed decisions about investments that you understand well. However, this isn’t always possible or practical, especially if you want to diversify your portfolio widely.
Why do I need to have a plan for my investments?
Having a plan for your investments is important because it allows you to set goals and track progress towards those goals. A plan also forces you to think about how much risk you are willing to take on and what types of investments will best suit your needs.
Why do I need to monitor my investments?
Monitoring your investments is important because it allows you see how they are performing and make changes if necessary. It’s also important to monitor your investments so that you can sell them before they lose too much value or buy more when they are doing well.
Why do I need to have an emergency fund?
An emergency fund is important because it gives you a cushion of cash to fall back on in case of unexpected expenses or job loss. Without an emergency fund, unexpected costs could force you to sell off assets at unfavorable prices or rack up high-interest debt.
Why is rebalancing important?
Rebalancing refers to the process of selling some assets that have increased in value and buying others that have lost value so that your overall portfolio remains balanced between different asset classes, it helps ensure that investors don’t take on too much risk as markets move up and down.
Why is it better to start investing early?
That is because it gives your investments more time to grow. This is due to the power of compounding, which refers to the fact that investments grow at a faster rate when they are left untouched for longer periods of time.
Why is compounding important?
Compounding is important because it allows your money to grow at a faster rate over time. This happens because as your investments earn interest, that interest is added back into the principal, so you earn interest on both the original investment and the reinvested earnings.
Why are fees important?
Fees are important because they can eat into your investment returns if they are not carefully monitored. Many types of fees, such as annual management fees charged by mutual funds, are based on a percentage of assets under management. This means that as your account balance grows, so do the fees you pay.
Why is risk important?
Risk is important because it affects how likely it is that you will lose money.
Why do I need to stay disciplined with my investments?
It’s important to stay disciplined with your investments because it’s easy to make emotionally-driven decisions that can end up costing you money in the long run. For example, selling off investments after a sharp market decline may leave you with losses that could have been avoided if you had held onto those assets for longer.
Why do I need to have a long-term perspective?
It’s important to have a long-term perspective when investing because short-term fluctuations in asset prices are normal and should be expected. Attempts to timing the market often result in buying high and selling low, which ultimately leads to losses.
Why is it important not to try to time the market?
Trying to time the market is often discouraged by experts because it’s difficult (if not impossible) to predict when prices will rise or fall. Instead, most investors advocate for taking a buy-and-hold approach, which involves buying assets and holding onto them for extended periods of time regardless of market conditions..
John Wilson
Founder of Clever Banker, John Wilson has 20 years of experience in publishing, insurance, corporate finance and personal finance. Clever Banker combines all these elements into one.
Born in Vancouver, Canada and now living in Toronto, John holds an MBA from the University of Western Ontario.
“I founded this site to contribute towards improving financial literacy in Canada. It also allows me to write about my favorite topics: finance and investments.”
John manages money from friends and family through TD Direct Investing, National Bank Brokerage, Disnat, Interactive Brokers & Wealthsimple accounts.
He's mostly invested in Canadian stocks, with long-time holdings such as Boyd Group, Constellation Software, MTY Food Group, CCL Industries and Enghouse Systems.
John has personal Canadian taxation notions he draws from having helped friends and family with taxes. He can also handle himself very well in financial modeling exercises, given that he's worked in the corporate finance world earlier in his career.