Want to know the secret of successful investing? The key is not how much money you have, but what kind of investor you are. Do you want moderate growth with low risk or high growth with higher risks and the potential for a greater reward? That's your choice! If you're a conservative investor who wants to preserve their wealth, then high-yield bonds might be right for you. On the other hand, if your goal is retirement in style and comfort at any cost (even though it means taking on more risk), stocks may be better suited to your needs. For people who like a little excitement in their lives and don’t mind losing some sleep over it all, there are even options such as penny stocks or commodities futures that offer the potential for huge returns.
What is an investment strategy?
When you have an investment strategy that is planned to fit your lifestyle, you will build a successful portfolio. You should research the different types of investments available and then pick one that fits your needs. Learning is the cornerstone of an effective business strategy, and finding good resources is half the job. The supportive community of traders at NetPicks.com is a great resource for learning and networking. Trading takes time, patience, and strategy and it requires research, analysis, and self-awareness. Before you start actively trading it's important to know your goals, risk tolerance, timeframe for goals, available funds, and time spent on investments.
How to create a trading strategy
Defining your risk tolerance is especially important in understanding how to create a trading strategy. Before you can define your risk tolerance, you need to ask yourself the four T’s:
Time horizon
Trader type
Thrill-seeking Risk profile
The big picture.
Defining your time horizon will help you determine what types of investment options are best for you in creating an effective trading strategy. There are other questions to ask yourself as well, but these are some of the most important ones and should be taken seriously before starting anything.
Types of investments available
There are many different types of investments to choose from. It all comes down to what you're trying to achieve. The following are some of the options available for creating an effective trading strategy.
Stocks are traded on public exchanges through brokers, have low risk & no limits but can also suffer high losses because they are always subject to market fluctuations. A stock is owned by a publicly-traded company, and it can be bought or sold at any point. If you buy low and sell high enough times, the stock will rise in price.
Mutual funds are also known as investment companies that pool your money with others to buy stocks, bonds, and other securities. They're less risky than most other investments because they're diversified.
Bonds are financial securities that agree to pay the lender (also known as the bondholder) a certain amount of interest at regular intervals and then repay the principal on a specified future date. They're issued by companies, cities, states, and sometimes foreign governments and corporations located all over the world.
Options are contracts that give you the right to purchase or sell a stock at an agreed-upon price, called the strike price. You can also write your options contract and sell it for future delivery.
Futures are financial instruments used by investors to speculate on the future prices of commodities like wheat, pork bellies, gold, oil, currencies, and interest rates. When you buy a futures contract, you're not buying the physical commodity; you’re making a bet that prices will go up or down.
Forex is short for foreign exchange and it's an over-the-counter market where banks and other financial institutions trade different currencies. People invest in the forex market because they think a certain currency will become more or less valuable.
What you need to get started
Whether you choose stocks, forex, or any other type of investment, there are some basic requirements for you to begin building an effective trading strategy. A sound investment plan is a key to success in creating an effective trading strategy. Without a plan, you are more likely to make emotional decisions on investments which can lead to losses or smaller gains than initially anticipated.
It's beneficial for your goals of creating an effective trading strategy that all of your accounts are linked to one online brokerage account. This makes it easy to trade and manage all of your investments in a single location. Now that you know how to create an effective trading strategy, it's time to start building your portfolio!