By Roderick L. Abad
DUE to volatility of the stock market, many still hold back when it comes to investing here as the immediate cashback is not always guaranteed.
Needless to say, however, there are still those who are bold enough—mostly young professionals—to gamble their hard-earned money, armed with their guts and a little know-how, thanks to research literatures or personal anecdotes from investor-friends or relatives.
To guide newbie stock bettors on what to expect in their investments, UTrade teaches them the basics in layman’s terms.
First is the “risk-and-return” trade-off.
Automatically, their being risk-takers is shown in their entry to the stock market, whether with small or big initial investments. But this can be measured by their appetite of taking the pitfall.
According to the online stock trading platform of Unicapital Securities Inc., “safe investments” doesn’t yield a high return compared with putting the money in “riskier, but potentially more profitable companies.”
It means that the higher the potential losses an investor can take, the higher the returns will be.
So, playing in the stock market requires awareness of personal risk appetite.
“Ideally, a balance of high risk-high yield and low risk-stable return will net profits in the long term,” UTrade said.
When purchasing stocks from various listed firms, they get to own them partly.
The stock trader noted that income reports and market status are beyond the figures reflected on screen in the trading floor that changes value by the minute.
While they don’t necessarily reflect current values, it said that “sometimes, lowered expectations apply only for short-term gains, with investors who stay, earning more.”
UTrade cited, for instance, an expanding firm that opens more outlets may mean lower share values in the short term due to corporate expenditure, but higher gains because of expected income from expansion.
“It is important to be vigilant to these kinds of movement when investing in stocks,” it said.
The online stock trading provider reminded the investors of contradicting information. Even though the Internet provides almost all the information they need when investing, it said that interpretation varies per web site.
“Instead of navigating the stock market alone, some people refer to online trading platforms, like UTrade, to help them manage their stock-market portfolios online,” it said.
UTrade has a Stock Investment Program, wherein clients can invest a fixed amount at regular intervals on a certain stock.
The platform enables clients to trade, view and change orders, and even compare the values of various stocks.
Also, it allows free and easy access to market information and proprietary research studies.
Beyond managing portfolios online, UTrade also offers free weekly seminars on the basics of investing in the stock market.
It has experienced brokers who can help clients throughout the investment process, as well as recommend stocks to invest in based on their financial objectives.
“Having realistic expectations are important when investing in the stock market. With the appropriate knowledge and credible tools, anyone can have better chances of playing and winning in the stock market,” UTrade said.