The Attitude To Investing - Do You Have What It Takes?
Attitude with investing is so important. "Why?" you ask. Its simple really. When investing, you want all your decisions to be made on the information relating to the investment and for reasons specific to the investment. You do not want to find yourself in the position where you are making decisions about an investment, because of factors which are irrelevant to the investment. Thus the adage, "Plan the trade, and trade the plan". Here are a few pointers which may help.
1. Never make an investment with money you need for basic living expenses. Even if that sum of money isn't needed this month nor the next, but rather three months down the road, do not put it into an investment. Investments made with money that should have been spent on living expenses will later suffer as you need to make decisions based on living expenses rather than on more adequate factors.
As an example, let's say that the money in question needs to go to a repayment on your mortgage loan which is due in about three months. Luck may just have it that the investment you made takes a sudden fall on the precise week of your repayment. In ideal circumstances you would let the investment continue its course, give it the time to bounce back; but since you are strapped for cash and have a payment looming, you close it. Ultimately, your decision was driven by factors irrelevant to the investment and a loss results. The lesson here is that one only invests money which they do not need to get by.
2. A very effective and clever technique in making investments is to imagine to yourself that the money has been lost completely upon investment. The rationale here is also somewhat simple. Many if not most investments will suffer at one point or another and countless investors (including this one) get cold feet too soon in the game and end up pulling out. Often then the investment turns around into a gain, had the investment been given the time to mature.
By telling yourself that it's lost money the moment you put it into an investment, you are adopting an attitude which will spare you from the nervous impulses that ruin many investments. Take my word for it: few things are as frustrating and disappointing as pulling out of an investment to incur a loss, only to see it bounce back for others later and go on to perform excellently.
3. Another part of your attitude as an investor must be the recognition that failed investments are just a part of the game. Any investor will incur losses at one point or another during their track record; what's important is to know how to react to those losses in the right way, with the right attitude. Letting them affect you in disproportionate measure will keep you from ever becoming a savvy investor in the long term. Below are two very helpful ways for viewing unsuccessful trades:
3a). Don't look at trades individually, rather look at your trades as a group object. For example, you may have a strategy that works four out of five trades. One out of five trades on average makes a loss. What you need to do is tally your net profit over all five trades, including the loss, and divide this by five. The result is your profit per trade. If you do this, you can actually view your losing trades as profit earners. IE. You attribute 20% of your five trade net result to the unsuccessful trade, simply because it is a crucial part of a successful strategy.
This way you will be encouraged to continue trading your successful strategy, rather than get discouraged when one trade goes wrong.
3b). Consider the losses you make as educational expenses. Most folks dedicated to the industry of finance have dedicated many years and thousands of dollars on educating themselves on the matter at prestigious universities, getting a grip on the trade. The equivalent for somebody striking up in the field from zero is a series of unsuccessful trades. This implies though you actually learn from them. This must be done professionally and objectively, without emotions, otherwise you will never make the cut and will miss out on lucrative long term gains through investments.
Investment work and the markets are known for being able to bring out people's best and worst features. Thus, controlling one's emotional and irrational reactions is fundamental so that they don't cloud decisions. As the saying goes: "Plan the trade, and trade the plan. - 23200
1. Never make an investment with money you need for basic living expenses. Even if that sum of money isn't needed this month nor the next, but rather three months down the road, do not put it into an investment. Investments made with money that should have been spent on living expenses will later suffer as you need to make decisions based on living expenses rather than on more adequate factors.
As an example, let's say that the money in question needs to go to a repayment on your mortgage loan which is due in about three months. Luck may just have it that the investment you made takes a sudden fall on the precise week of your repayment. In ideal circumstances you would let the investment continue its course, give it the time to bounce back; but since you are strapped for cash and have a payment looming, you close it. Ultimately, your decision was driven by factors irrelevant to the investment and a loss results. The lesson here is that one only invests money which they do not need to get by.
2. A very effective and clever technique in making investments is to imagine to yourself that the money has been lost completely upon investment. The rationale here is also somewhat simple. Many if not most investments will suffer at one point or another and countless investors (including this one) get cold feet too soon in the game and end up pulling out. Often then the investment turns around into a gain, had the investment been given the time to mature.
By telling yourself that it's lost money the moment you put it into an investment, you are adopting an attitude which will spare you from the nervous impulses that ruin many investments. Take my word for it: few things are as frustrating and disappointing as pulling out of an investment to incur a loss, only to see it bounce back for others later and go on to perform excellently.
3. Another part of your attitude as an investor must be the recognition that failed investments are just a part of the game. Any investor will incur losses at one point or another during their track record; what's important is to know how to react to those losses in the right way, with the right attitude. Letting them affect you in disproportionate measure will keep you from ever becoming a savvy investor in the long term. Below are two very helpful ways for viewing unsuccessful trades:
3a). Don't look at trades individually, rather look at your trades as a group object. For example, you may have a strategy that works four out of five trades. One out of five trades on average makes a loss. What you need to do is tally your net profit over all five trades, including the loss, and divide this by five. The result is your profit per trade. If you do this, you can actually view your losing trades as profit earners. IE. You attribute 20% of your five trade net result to the unsuccessful trade, simply because it is a crucial part of a successful strategy.
This way you will be encouraged to continue trading your successful strategy, rather than get discouraged when one trade goes wrong.
3b). Consider the losses you make as educational expenses. Most folks dedicated to the industry of finance have dedicated many years and thousands of dollars on educating themselves on the matter at prestigious universities, getting a grip on the trade. The equivalent for somebody striking up in the field from zero is a series of unsuccessful trades. This implies though you actually learn from them. This must be done professionally and objectively, without emotions, otherwise you will never make the cut and will miss out on lucrative long term gains through investments.
Investment work and the markets are known for being able to bring out people's best and worst features. Thus, controlling one's emotional and irrational reactions is fundamental so that they don't cloud decisions. As the saying goes: "Plan the trade, and trade the plan. - 23200
About the Author:
Damian Papworth makes investments for his lifestyle and his family. Recently he researched baby high chairs. He put a website together with his findings on high chairs for babies.
posted by X - Men @ 1:44 AM
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