Thursday, December 4, 2008

Stock Market - Basic principles - Part 1 of 4

By Zigfred Diaz

Several people have inquired from me whether they should invest in the Philippine stock market. They also wanted to know how to begin doing it. I am not sure know if they are really seriously asking the question. They might be just curious about the stock market considering that it has been always in the headlines lately. This is brought about by the fact that it is at its highest levels since the beggining of its creation.

Investing in the Philippine stock market is not for the faint hearted. As an investor you must have expectations as to how much you are going to earn for a certain vehicle of investment. Such is expectation is measured in terms of how much your money will grow at a certain period of time. (Most usually this is measured in interest per annum) Because the Philippine Stock market is in its all time high for several months now, people think that they should join the band wagon. They do not even understand the basic principles involved nor do they understand how the stock market works. I am not saying that you should be an economist before you should invest in the stock market.

What I am saying is that you should understand the basic principles involved first before you could succeed in the stock market. While it is true that fortunes are made on the Stock market, loss of wealth has also been experienced by some. Some who just barge into the stock market without understanding the basic principles of investment end up leaving the stock market convinced that the stock market is no good at all as an alternative vehicle of investment.

Before discussing the details on how to invest in the Philippine stock market we must first have a good grasp on the basic principles of investment in order that we might possibly succeed and enjoy trading. There will be ten principles that will discussed. The first one will be discussed here. Other points will be discussed in the articles to come. Please visit my blog if you wish to see the article in its entirety.

1.) You must realize that the stock market is just another vehicle of investment - There are several investment vehicles where you could place your money. One is not more superior than the other. They have their advantages and disadvantages, but this will not be discussed in depth here.

In economic parlance, the stock market is categorized as belonging to the "Capital Markets." Even in the Capital market category there are different types of investment vehicles. You have several alternatives here. Aside from the stock market, you could place your investment in pension funds, bonds, insurance, real estate, time deposit accounts different types of savings. It is important to know this because it will help you determine whether or not you should invest in the Stock Market considering that there are other alternative vehicles of investment in the Capital markets.

As I said each of them has their own advantages and disadvantages. What I personally did is not to place all of my eggs in one basket. I have invested in most of the Capital Markets including the stock market, insurance, pension, deposits, and bonds through mutual funds. - 16463

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