The science part analyses facts, data, news, and chats to decide where to invest your money. The art part is understanding market trends and using experiences and gut feelings to support them.
Therefore, the art and science of successful investing means using a mixture of data analysis and market trends to invest. Investing as a profession takes disciplines like economics, finance, statistics, and behavioral psychology. Successful investing often requires research, strategic planning, and a disciplined approach to fit into the market movements.
Understand Both Aspects For Long-Term Financial Success
Before investing, a person should understand that time and risk are Inversely Proportional to each other in the investment market.
For example, there are two brothers, Akhil and Siraj; Akhil invested in a stock with a high risk, and with his art and science techniques, he earned a nice profit in less time than seeing him. Siraj also invested in the stock because of less knowledge. This time, he put money in the one with less risk. Still, they could only wait for a short and expected profit in the short term, which they couldn't get because they invested in a slow but profitable stock for a long time. If you wanted results quickly, he had to take a risk like his brother. If a person can't take risks, he must wait for his money to grow. On the other hand, if a person is ready to take risks, he can get good results in the short term.
Emotional intelligence in decision-making
- People today tend to rely on their emotional intelligence, comfort, and guts rather than doing some research on some things. It is hard work for some people. But this aura/mindset could be better for the investment market.
- A person should not use their emotional intelligence in decision-making during investment. Like using his guts, feelings, and some recommendations from close ones, this can result in a loss. So, do not invest based on emotional intelligence. How individual goals and values shape investment strategies. People need to figure out what they want to do or their goals; they need clarification.
For example, Aman is an engineer working in an IT company, not happy with his boss, always complaining, and wants his business to become his boss. Plus, side by side, he is preparing for a competitive exam for a government job. This little story proves how a person can be confused as an engineer, unsatisfied with his career, wanting a business, and preparing for competitive exams.
The Science of Successful Investing
- The "science" of investing and delving into the objective, data-driven aspects.
- The science of investing is understanding financial markets, asset management, and managing risks to make decisions for expected returns.
- "Investing your money in any field is a risky process. A person should think twice before investing." Here comes the science behind investing: a person should do complete research on the field/stock in which they are about to invest.
- There are many websites, telegram channels, and tools out there for free to help you in your research and data analysis of the asset you want to invest in.
Fundamental analysis: Understanding financial statements, earnings, and economic indicators.
Technical analysis: Technical analysis studies price charts and historical data to predict future price movements. Price Charts are the main element of technical analysis. These provide a visual representation of price movement by time in the form of candle design. Understanding trends, whether bullish(upwards) or bearish (downward), helps identify whether more buying or selling occurs in that particular stock.
- Support and resistance - These imaginary lines help us understand chart movements. Support is where the price stops falling, while resistance is where the price tops. Identifying these allows us to know where to enter and exit a trade.
- Chart patterns- Certain chart patterns signal us to change in market direction. Patterns like head and shoulder, double top, double bottom, cup and handle, triangle, etc, are essential stock chart patterns. Identifying these can help us predict market movement.
- Historical data- Analysing historical data helps us identify patterns that have occurred before. Understanding how the market reacted in the past can help us make more precise decisions about future market movements
Risk Management Strategies and Diversification
Investing involves risk, but strategic risk management can help us survive unexpected market movements.
- Diversification- It can be dividing and spreading all your eggs in one basket instead of putting them in one basket. Similarly, diversify your funds in sectors like Treasury Funds, the stock market, real estate, mutual funds, etc. The main motive is to reduce the impact of poor performance in one investment on the overall portfolio.
- Stop Loss- In stock market investment; there is an option known as a stop, which helps us exit a trade where our loss-bearing capacity limits can be set and modified at any time.
- Emergency funds- Maintain emergency funds for unexpected market movement or to take advantage of value investing.
- Find Your Investment Style - Discuss various investment styles, such as value, growth, and income.
- Value Investing- Value investing is investing in stocks below their justified value/price. The market occasionally misses the costs of the supplies of companies with solid bases that are temporarily undervalued. Investing in such stores is like buying high-value goods at discounted prices, which will eventually be profitable.
- Growth Investing- Growth investing is investing in a company or stock expected to grow more than other companies in this industry.
- Income investing- income investing generates a steady income in the form of dividends and interests. The main motive is to prioritize investments that provide a constant income. It is an excellent option for retired persons or those seeking a passive income stream to cover living expenses.
Identify Risk Tolerance & Time Horizon
Identify risk tolerance:- It means our ability to cooperate with market fluctuations. It also indicates our capacity to bear losses in earning money.
- Financial situation- A person's financial situation and income strongly impact their risk-taking ability.
- Past experiences- Persons' past experiences with market fluctuations shape the person's emotional responses and risk-taking capacity.
- Emotional factor- It refers to a person's ability to handle the ups and downs of the market at a psychological level.
Time horizon refers to when a person wants to hold his funds in the investment before exiting it and taking the fund out.
- Short term(0-5 years)
- Intermediate-Term
- (5-10 years)Long term(10+ years)
Diversify Investment - Over the long term, the market can face various ups and downs and different trends; diversification helps the portfolio balance these changes, resulting in stability over a long time.
- Personal preferences- Find your risk tolerance, time horizon, and financial goals to make your personalized investment strategies.
- Diversification of funds- Diversifying your funds in various investment sectors like the stock market, real estate, treasury funds, mutual funds, bank FDs, etc., will create a balanced portfolio.
Diversification In Risk Management
- Diversification involves investing in sectors like the stock market, real estate, treasury funds, mutual funds, bank FDs, etc., which helps risk spread across these sectors. It prevents the negative impact of a poor-performing industry on the entire portfolio.
- Different sectors have different levels of risk. By applying and mixing funds across various sectors with varying levels of risk, the overall portfolio of risk is reduced by getting an average of risk. When some sectors face a downfall, other sectors may perform well, balancing the overall impact on the investment.
Build A Well-Balanced Portfolio Across Different Asset Classes
Building a well-balanced portfolio across different sector classes means strategically investing based on financial goals and risk tolerance ability.
It is like having a mix of stocks (which can go up or down a lot), bonds, and real estate. This diversification helps when one investment performs poorly; the others might do okay. Over time, you check how they're doing and adjust if needed. It's like making sure all your eggs aren't in one basket.
Common Psychological Pitfalls In Investing
Fear of loss- Fear of loss is an infamous emotional response from a person making irrational decisions. When a series of failures is faced, a person may panic and end up selling their investments without thinking, fearing further decline in value.
Selling at the bottom- fear can lead to bad decisions like selling investments at the bottom of the market's downfall, resulting in losses that may recover over time.
Missed Opportunities- Fear can result in missing or avoiding profitable opportunities due to visible risk.
Greed- Greed is Chasing HIgh returns without analyzing risks; Investors often make blind decisions chasing historical returns. Investors may need proper research to tie up with high-risk investments to make money. Investors should also pay more attention to fundamental, data-driven analysis.
Overconfidence- happens when a person believes in predicting market movement or success in specific investments, leading to investing and taking unwanted risks.
Lack of diversification- Overconfidence can lead to a lack of diversification, as investors may concentrate and invest only in a few assets they believe are performing well, resulting in a harmful and risky portfolio.
