The Basics of Investment
(Because investing for retirement is most important we will start with it.) An individual investor buys something (an investment vehicle ) hoping it will increase in value so that it can be sold later for more than was paid. So, the basics of investment are very simple for an individual investor. You just buy and sell stuff. Of course the two big questions come up immediately. "What do I buy?" and "When do I sell?" These questions frustrate most individual investors. TimingTruth will walk you through the answers to each of these questions. - What do I buy? Investing or buying for retirement greatly simplifies this question. We only want to buy things that are low risk. Low risk investment vehicles that TimingTruth uses include:
- Money Market Funds
- Bonds in the form of exchange traded or no-load mutual funds
- Stocks in the form of exchange traded or no-load mutual funds
(We know that there are other instruments that many would add to this list but the main reason they want to add them is because they earn a commission if they sell you one. We don't include those because in our opinion they cost you more and don't perform as well.) We use these three because they can usually be traded through the same online broker. (Employer Sponsored 401k are a bit different and we'll discuss them later.) Which specific funds you buy are determined by your asset allocations. Your asset allocations are determined mostly by how many years you have until you intend to retire. We provide a calculator to make the decision very easy.
- When Do I Sell (or Buy)? Typically this is the hardest question to answer for most self directed investors. It is difficult because most investors do not behave rationally when it comes to buying and selling. TimingTruth provides our subscribers with clear and timely BUY and SELL signals so the investor does not have to make this decision. Through your subscription you pay us to tell you when to buy and when to sell. We take that responsibility very seriously.
 |
