Basic Investment Principles In The Stock Market - Part 2

By Zigfred Diaz

This the second part of the series on the discussion of principles of investment in the stock market. This is the continuation of a four part series. We previously discussed the first principle. This involves realizing that the stock market is just another investment vehicle. You must realize that there are other vehicles of investments before you decide to invest in the stock market. In this article the next two principles will be discussed. Please visit my blog if you want to view the entire article.

2.) Investing in the stock market is a roller coaster ride - The advantage in the stock market is that when it goes up, big profits are often made. But when it drops fast, big losses are made also.

So when the market goes up we take advantage of the situation by selling and when the market goes down we take advantage of the situation by buying. When I first invested in the stock market almost 2 years ago, the Philippine Stock exchange index was only about 2000 + points. I've seen it go up to 2500 points and drop back to the 2000 level in the middle of 2006. It then slowly and steadily climbed up to the 3200 level in the 1st quarter of 2007 and then drop in a very short period of time during the final days of the 1st quarter of 2007. It then climbed steadily to a high of 3700+ points in July 2007 but dropped below 3000 points a month after. It then climbed steadily to its highest at 3800+ points by October and dropped to its present 3600 points.

There is only one conclusion that can be drawn here, that is it is really a roller coaster ride. Huge Profits and losses are made during those times that the market is up or down.

3.) You should determine what type of investor you are - Are you a long term investor or a short term investor? This is a very important question that each serious new investor should consider. This affects whether you should buy or sell a certain stock.

Long term investors hold their stocks for 5 to 10 years. This means that that they believe in the company that you are investing in. This also means that and that they have extra money for other things because they can afford to put in their money for a long period of time.

One of the main benefits of being long term investors is that you do not have to worry about monitoring the day to day technical analysis. There is no problem if the stock is held for a long period of time since what is considered is the strong fundamentals of the company. On the other hand, short term investor,who decide to cash in within a months time to 6 months time, will have to monitor the day to day market activities to ensure that they are making a profit.

Short term investors have also to consider if they can afford to put in their money for a long period of time however the time element is not as long as that of the long term investor. This is so because during the short period wherein you buy and sell stocks, you might incur losses during this time so you may decide to wait longer a little bit more.

Most of the stocks I hold are considered as medium and long term investments. This is because when I started out I determined to be more of a long term investor. There are stocks that I hold that I consider as short term investments. However majority of the stocks that I hold are considered as medium to long term investments. - 29971

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