GUIDE TO INVESTING |WHAT YOU MUST KNOW AS AN INVESTOR OR SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO INVEST

Guide to investing is simply a roadmap that all must follow to make the best possible investment that they can make. You cannot expect to make a killer from investment if you don’t have a guide to investing. Guide to investing is like a compass that directs your entire investing path so that you will not have to fall into the wrong kind of investment.

Nobody will go on a long trip without making a sort of plan and enquiry that will help ensure that he or she gets to his or her destination without having to go through much stress and trouble yet, many people embark on the journey of investing without firstly making enquiries about the: dangers, benefits, types, investment vehicles, and strategies of investment before venturing into investment. Acquisition of investment guide is the best first step that every investor must take before releasing money.

IMPORTANCE OF HAVING AN INVESTMENT GUIDE

IT GUIDES OUR PATH:

The path that leads to successful and profitable investment is dark, slippery, narrow, risky, and dangerous and therefore needs guides. Investment guide / guide to investing will act as light that illuminates your investment path when the journey of investment becomes dark; guide to investing will be your grip when the road to the land of profitable investment becomes slippery, good guide to investing will act as your insurance agent when the risk becomes unbearable, etc

BETTER OUR LIFE:

You will no doubt live a better live if you are able to make sound investment decisions that will consistently bring in returns above your expected returns. Your health and social life will be balanced if you simply learn how to make good investment most of the time. Again, jobs will be created in a country if sound investment decisions are taken on a large scale. This will no doubt improve the standard of living of all.

PROTECTS OUR INITIAL INVESTMENT

It is your responsibility as a seasoned investor to always take actions that will protect your investment. You can never make returns on investment if you don’t firstly protect your initial investment. Investors who invest in shares for instance will not stand the chance of making any returns if the company is to go bankrupt.

WARNS US OF IMMINENT DANGER:

Because guide to investing contains experience and stories of past investment failures, you stand the chance of not making the same mistake and also make you read and interpret dangers whenever they come knocking on your door.

MAKE US SEE TREND AS THEY FORM: investment has its own trend that must be followed by any serious investor. Active traders will tell you that the trend is your friend. As universally accepted as this may be, the problem however still remains that people don’t seem to observe investment trend and follow it as it forms. Part of the cause is that we are always ignorant of the fact that we need investment guide

MY BITTER INVESTMENT EXPERIENCE

I will not forget in a hurry how I lost my four-year savings to one ‘shady investment’ I found myself into while I was 16. I saw an advert of a company selling shares on one of the national dailies and being under the influence of the newly acquired information I have about the importance of investing in shares, I quickly ran home, broke my savings box and rushed down to the bank to pick up the prospectus of the IPO (initial public offer) of the offering company.

I did not bother to analyse the figures in the prospectus and incorporate some fundamental information (news about the company and political terrain) before taking my first giant step of investing. I guess you can anticipate the end of my story?

LESSONS I LEARNT FROM MY INVESTMENT EXPERIENCE

• Importance of analysis
• Importance of listening to news
• That you don’t invest out of pure sentiment
• Always seek expert advice- seek the knowledge they have so that you too can become an expert
• Don’t invest in the industry you don’t have knowledge about
• Only invest when the exit route is clear to you
• Understand the legal environment before investing

WHERE TO GET INVESTMENT GUIDE

Investment guide or guide to investment can be obtained from a variety of sources some of which are stated below:

BOOKS:

Investment books happen to be one of the most readily available sources of valuable investment information that you can lay your hands on. The big problem with this guide to investing information source is that there are many fake and impracticable materials out there today. I have read a lot of books on investing guide and have come to realise that most of the writers of guide to investing books are themselves not making money using their system.

This lingered on for some times until I stumbled upon some books which I can readily recommend to anyone seeking information to good investing strategy. The books are displayed below:

EXPERTS

Experts are individuals who have acquired vast understanding of a particular specialized field. Investment experts are individuals who have made it in live through investment. They are not writers but teachers who are ever willing to teach you all that you need to know about how to invest your money profitably.

These individuals are hard to find but can be found with some price to pay (your time mostly). Start by identifying the area you want to invest in and then do a Google search about online networks of such people. Spend sometime in the community and build /establish a relationship.

This process may sound difficult but has been tested to be more effective than the quick-fix approach to finding mentor. Another thing you can do is to find a consultant to help you out.

MEDIA:

Media is also a cheap and effective way of getting good and sound investment advice and ideas. By listening to investing and business related programs on your radio and television, you can acquire invaluable knowledge that no paid investment consultant can ever offer you. Investment talk shows have a ways of opening up people’s mind on the opportunities that abound in their areas. I have personally stumbled upon business and investing opportunities by listening to radio business talk show. I learnt most things I know about shareholders' investment ratios and limitation of ratios analysis through the media for instance.

Any of the ways you choose to get your investment advice can pay off so long as you really get the best from the investment guide mentor. I encourage you to read up other materials in this site if you enjoyed the one you just read.

Invest with wisdom!