Stock investments have been one of the most popular forms of long-investments. However, new as well as old investors find it a bit difficult to manage their stock investments.
As you invest your hard-earned money in stocks, it is important that you keep a tab on their performance. One of the golden rules of stock investments is to have a diversified portfolio.
You should make it a point to spread your investments across several companies that belong to different sectors. Never put a chunk of money in a single stock as there is a high risk you may end up in the loss if the stock does not perform well.
With a diversified investment portfolio, you minimize the risk of losing your investments in one go due to sudden market variations.
Now that you have established a diversified portfolio, you need to find out simple ways to track all your investments. Let’s take a look at top 9 ways in which you can keep a tab on your investments in a seamless way.
9 Smart Ways to Track Stock Market Investments
Keep a tab on the current news of the company
It must be noted that when you invest in a stock, you are essentially investing in the company. Therefore, it is important that you are aware of the important news related to the company. Make sure that you are following the important updates of the company in terms of acquisition or management appointments. You should ideally know about the upcoming major turn of events in the company as these factors are responsible for the company’s performance.
Set up a portfolio tracker
Thanks to digitalization, you can keep a track of all your investments with online portfolio trackers with several sites like Google Finance and Yahoo Finance. You can customize trackers with a list of your stocks as well as funds. The tools let you insert the number of shares you have bought, and at what price.
Follow the general news
Stock markets are volatile and get easily affected by the day-to-day events. Hence, it is extremely important to be aware of the updates especially related to global gold and oil prices. The stock market gets affected by factors like political instability, presidential elections, natural calamities, inflation, interest rates and so on. Therefore, it will be helpful for you to follow the news related to all the aforementioned topics. At the same time, make sure to log on to financial news sites and read about the things that can affect your stock investment.
Take professional help
There is no harm in consulting a professional financial planner before making an investment in stocks. Take assist from a professional financial advisor will help you have a clear understanding of your financial growth of the stock. As you planned to spend money in stocks over the years, you should have to look the adjust and evaluate the performance of the company from time to time. You can even visit websites like BankBazaar.com to read about different stocks and their performance. Try to read expert opinions about the upcoming market trend and get an idea about how to go about your stock investments.
Check the performance in each quarter
You should make it a priority to check the performance of the stock in each quarter. Check the financial results of the company in every quarter as it will give you an idea of its performance in terms of revenue, net profit, total income, total expenses, all the financial ratios, P/E (price-to-earnings) ratio, D/E (debt-to-equity)and so on.
Go through the annual report
The annual report of the company will give you detailed insights into the company’s latest developments. It will also give you a fair idea of what plans the company has for the coming years. This information helps you take a sound decision on whether to continue investing in the stock or go the other way. As an investor, you need to look out for the fundamentals of the company. You should conduct a thorough research of the company before investing in it
Stay away from tips and market gossip
You should avoid market gossip about a company or its stock price. Never fall for tips via SMS or email about investing in a particular stock as it may be misleading Also, you should never follow the herd mentality and make an investment-related decision. Always have a concrete reason and logic to buy a stock and never buy or sell a stock by taking emotional decisions.
Pick a strategy and follow it
Investing in stocks should be done only after considering your financial goals. It is important that as a new investor you stick to your investment plans and don’t change it based on a market gossip as you may end up losing money.
Reassess your investments
You should reassess and revalue your stock investment decisions twice or thrice a year. It is important to check your stock portfolio now and then and buy or sell the stock accordingly.
You must understand that the stock market does not have to be a gamble. You need to put in efforts, research well, and keep track of your investments in order to become a successful investor.
Also, it is important that you should be patient when it comes to stock investments. In order to get sizeable returns, you need to let the stock play its course in the market. You should also keep in mind to have realistic expectations from your stock investments.
Wrapping Up
Make sure to understand the market before having huge expectations from the stocks. Stock investments have proven to yield good returns when they are invested for a longer duration.
Once you get the hang of stock trading, you will soon be able to build your own investment strategy after several trial and errors. We hope all the aforementioned points will help you keep a track of your stock investments in a hassle-free way.