How to Start Investing: A Beginner's Guide

Learn how to start investing for the first time and get access to helpful resources for new investors!

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Is Investing for You?

Investment is an intimidating venture primarily for people who are doing it the first time. It is easy to feel overwhelmed and confused when trying to understand precisely what is required from you when you start investing.

For a majority of people, the hard part is determining whether an investment is for them. Here are a few tips to help you know whether an investment is your cup of tea or not.

1. Conduct your research.

You do not be a financial genius to understand how investing works.

It is essential to conduct research about investment to know exactly what you would be getting into. Research about the past trends and find out exactly what happens when an investment collapses. Look at the current trends of investments and the possible downside of the investment.

Looking at all these angles of investment helps you know whether an investment is for you. It gives you an in-depth knowledge of what is required of you once you step foot inside the investment world.

2. Find out whether you are risk tolerant.

Investing is all about taking a risk. It is essential first to figure out what kind of investor you are.

Decide whether you are a high-risk taker, moderate risk taker, or a conservative risk taker. However, there are groups of people who fall in neither of the above categories.

If you are one such person, then the investment is not an avenue you should consider venturing into. You can quickly determine your risk tolerance through taking some online questionnaires, which can quickly assess your risk tolerance towards investment.

3. Join an investment club.

Researching on investments can be a tedious task especially if you have no assistance from people who know more about investment.

You can join an investment club, as it will make it easier for you to learn more about investment from people who have some years of experience.

It will also give you the opportunity to learn from people the risks involved when it comes to the investment world.

With the information you acquire from the club, you can easily decide whether an investment is an area you would like to dive into or not.

4. Invest partially.

You cannot know the risks and benefits of investment by listening to people talk or conducting research. You have to attempt to at least dip your toes into the investment world and find out for yourself by experiencing it.

Therefore, do not put a lot of money first, start investing with a small amount of cash and observe the rate at which it grows.

After a certain period, you can quickly determine whether you want to pull out from investing or add more finances to the investment you already have.

5. Hire a professional investment advisor.

Seeking help from a professional investment advisor is a helpful way of determining whether an investment is for you.


How to Start Investing in the Financial Markets

The global financial markets are truly imposing, both in terms of the value and growing diversity.

To put this into the perspective, an estimated $220 billion is invested in currency alone every single hour, and this represents just a single faction of the global marketplace.

For newcomers, the sheer size of the foreign exchange and the financial markets as a whole can be daunting, particularly as they look to build a diverse investment portfolio.

Understand That Knowledge is Power.

While some people often talk about utilising instinct when trading, this usually applies to experienced investors who spent years honing their unique strategies.

For newcomers, a far superior strategy on how to start investing is to build a solid foundation of knowledge and use this to inform your orders.

This not only helps to minimise risk in the short-term, but it also enables you to establish a keen sense of determinism over a prolonged period of time.

This ensures that you evolve to understand the underlying laws that govern change in the marketplace and avoid making knee-jerk or emotional orders.

Trade Using a Demo Account.

In the digital age, both novice and experienced traders tend to use online trading platforms to execute orders.

This offers a number of advantages, with the most important of these being access to a demo account. Available to all new users for between three and six months, demo accounts offer traders access to simulated, real-time market conditions, enabling them to hone their skills without risking their hard-earned capital.

This is a necessary rite of passage for all investors, as it helps to bridge the sizeable gap between theoretical knowledge and practical experience.

Diversify Your Investments Wisely.

While most investors start by targeting a single market or asset class, it’s important to ensure that you diversify your interests as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, you’ll run the risk of incurring significant and recurring losses, depending on shifting market conditions and the changing macroeconomic climate.

The key is to scale your efforts in a quick but manageable way, and one that enables you to diversify your portfolio organically over time.

This approach also affords you the time to learn about new markets and assets before you begin to invest in them, and this is central to the cultivation of a portfolio that can deliver sustained returns.

That’s how to start investing even if you’re a beginner.

Thinking about investing some of your money? Learn how to start investing and find out whether an investment is your cup of tea or not: