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Investing is a big deal. You realize that the moment you take your first steps, doing the first transactions. Nowadays, it’s not only the old and wealthy men who trade stocks and cryptocurrencies but also millennials and Gen Z members of our society.
When you invest for the first time, it’s common to start with stocks, as they’re one of the most accessible areas of trading mostly due to the fact that information flows around very easily and there aren’t too many technicalities to be understood.
Students who get into trading and investing must know what to expect. Simpler put, they should know what they’re getting into before getting into it.
If you happen to be a student, this post might be particularly useful to you. However, if you’re simply interested in the basics of trading and stocks, this post will surely give you enough fuel to start exploring on your own.
Some Piece of Advice on What to Expect
If you’re a new investor, a student, or somebody who’s just considering stocks investing and trading, here’s some good advice that comes before everything else.
- If you choose to start small ($50-$100) find a professional broker that is willing to accept this small amount. Do your research, as it depends on what you’re going to invest. Start small and then invest what you earn.
- Always calculate and establish the total amount of money that you’re willing to risk losing. Remember – trading and investing will always involve risk, so you’ll need to manage the consequences and predict the unfortunate outcomes. The risk is often determined by your mindset and available budget.
- If you’re looking to invest long-term, set your aim on traded funds (ETFs) and capital mutual funds. They are the way to go in my opinion.
- You should always research and study both your clients and the marketplace on your own. Never take the words of a broker as absolute truth, and don’t build real expectations on other people’s competencies. Whenever you work with a company, make sure you research their past thoroughly.
What is a Stock?
Source: Investopedia
A stock is something you own. It is your asset that you’ve purchased through your own goods, and you can claim it whenever you want. There are many types of stocks, though there are two main types of stock: preferred and common.
The common stock allows the stock owner to participate at stakeholder’s discussion and meetings and influence decisions with votes.
The preferred stock type of trading doesn’t usually involve voting, though they usually earn more and have more control over their assets than common stockholders.
How to Start Trading?
Once you feel confident enough to start investing (even if it’s $100), you should choose an online broker that is able to satisfy and match your needs. If you’ll play small, seek companies that accept small money.
Also, consider and establish your purpose. What do you want to achieve? Get rich quick? Experience? Long-term investments?
Start researching the web for brokers. You can find plenty of reputable online brokers on the web, but just make sure you know what you’re getting into before jumping in.
Trading Tips for Students
Here are some student-oriented tips that should speed up your trading and investing journey.
- Focus on learning. Acquire the necessary knowledge and expertise to feel confident enough to start testing. Consume content from trading blogs, books, and magazines.
- Focus on testing. Once you’ve got the basics, you need to take action. Start small, but make sure you start. Keep reading and learning new things while focusing mainly on trading.
- Find a mentor. Just like companies offer online assignment help to students in the form of tutoring, you can discover brokers who are willing to take you under their wing and teach you essential concepts and strategies. Start seeking that mentor!
- Diversify your stocks portfolio. Don’t you ever invest all of your funds into a single company! That’s the very definition of putting all of your eggs in one basket, and we both know that doesn’t lead to good effects. Diversify the industries, the companies, and the interests. Don’t let the shiny “surest thing” convince you to risk everything you’ve earned until now.
- Learn technical analysis. Fundamental analysis is the art of identifying incoming patterns and outcomes from the analysis of external events and changes. Technical analysis helps you understand the price drops and the patterns behind the charts.
Takeaways
The world of investing is not limited nor restricted to a specific age or to specific conditions. If you’re a student who wants to trade stocks, it means that your intuition has already led you this way. Start learning, start experimenting, and see how it feels. After a few successful transactions, the feeling generated by the successful outcomes will give you enough clues to figure out whether long-term investing and trading are perfectly suited for you.
