World Investor Week may have come and gone, but that doesn’t mean the valuable lessons taught during the week are a thing of the past. The week was held September 30 to October 1 as an effort to “raise awareness about the importance of investor education and protection,” according to Investor.gov, a division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Here’s some of the best information for investors that came out of World Investor Week:
Be a smart investor. Investing involves risks, with some securities being safer than other ones. Investor.gov says avoiding “get rich quick” and “can’t lose” schemes is one of the best ways to save your money. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Smart investors research both their broker and securities before putting their money up. Make sure you understand all of the risks that potentially come with a specific security before you invest.
Make your money over longer periods of time. At the opposite end of get rich quick schemes is investing early and over a long period of time. Investing money into an account that accrues interest is one of the best ways to make more money over time. That’s because the interest on the principal earns interest itself, a concept called compound interest. As time passes, interest continues to grow, even if the principal amount stays the same.
Diversify your funds. Investing always comes with risks but you can lower them by spreading your investment money. Yahoo Finance suggests investing in mutual funds and ETFs rather than single stocks, bonds and other securities. These funds can also be adjusted from aggressive to conservative, changing the amount of risk to your investment.
Make sure your broker is licensed. Having a professional handle your investments is always wise. When it comes to your money, you should always do your own research. Broker check by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority is a great way to check to see if your broker is licensed. You can check him or her out here.
Check your CRS with your broker in summer 2020. Starting next summer, brokers and investment firms will be required to provide a customer relationship summary. According to investor.gov, the summary tells the investor about the services the firm offers and fees, costs and conflicts of interests that come with that firm. The CRS also includes if the firm and its brokers have any reportable legal or disciplinary history.
Success at investing takes time and will come with setbacks. But by planning for long term goals and making sure your money is in more than one source, you can increase your odds of losing on your investments.
About the Spencer Law Firm
The Spencer Law Firm’s attorneys litigate FINRA related proceedings such as FINRA arbitration and enforcement actions. If you have any questions regarding FINRA or if you have a FINRA arbitration or enforcement action and need assistance, please feel free to call Bonnie Spencer at the Spencer Law Firm at (888)237-459 to see what we can do for you. You can also visit us at Spencer-Law.com or at our office at 4635 Southwest Freeway, Suite 900, Houston, Texas, 77027.