If you are an existing stock investor or planning to invest in stocks directly, here are 11 useful pointers to bear in mind before you invest in the markets:
- Make sure your broker is registered with Stock Exchange and not deal with unregistered intermediaries.
- Ensure that you receive contract notes for all your transactions from your broker within one working day of execution of the trades.
- All investments carry risk of some kind. Investors should always know the risk that they are taking and invest in a manner that matches their risk tolerance.
- Do not be misled by market rumors, luring advertisement or ‘hot tips’ of the day.
- Take informed decisions by studying the fundamentals of the company. Find out the business the company is into, its future prospects, quality of management, past track record etc. Sources of knowing about a company are through annual reports, economic magazines, databases available with vendors or your financial advisor.
- If your financial adviser or broker advises you to invest in a company you have never heard of, be cautious. Spend some time checking out about the company before investing.
- Do not be attracted by announcements of fantastic results/news reports, about a company. Do your own research before investing in any stock.
- Do not be attracted to stocks based on what an internet website promotes, unless you have done adequate study of the company.
- Investing in very low priced stocks or what are known as penny stocks does not guarantee high returns.
- Be cautious about stocks which show a sudden spurt in price or trading activity.
- Any advise or tip that claims that there are huge returns expected, especially for acting quickly, may be risky and may to lead to losing some, most, or all of your money.
