Best ways to digitally invest your money in 2022
Whether you are a working professional, businessman or a student, this article is for you. We are going to deep-dive into investing. You can start with as low as ₹1,000.
Times are ever-changing. There are precious metals always being discovered, we might soon reach Mars and then it’s open season on them. Go for real estate, land will never be less valuable on Earth than it is today.
Stocks and Equity
If you’re looking to become an investor, you may already be aware of the stock market, and stock exchanges. If not, you must have watched Scam 1992 - Harshad Mehta story. A stock or a share can be considered as one part of the total parts of a company - so if you own some stocks of a company, you’re a part-owner. A share, therefore, has some value, and so a company raises money by issuing shares to the public. Stocks and equity are the same, as both represent the ownership in an entity (company) and are traded on the stock exchanges.
India has two main stock exchanges - the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the older Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). A stock exchange is an organized market, where traders can buy and sell the shares of different companies. Investors and traders connect to the exchanges via their brokers, and place buys or sell orders on these exchanges.
A set of 50 stocks in the NSE (and 30 in the BSE) have been selected, on the basis of their company’s reputation, market capitalization, and significance, to be part of a weighted formula that gives us the ‘value’ of the index.
Top Online Brokers:
Zerodha
Upstox
Groww
Risk management:
Let's be honest, we have all heard from someone or other about how risky the stock market is. Don't worry, it won't be a hellhole of burning money and eat up all your savings if you:
Don't listen to bogus claims from fraudulent agencies who promise you incredible investment tips
Don't start trading without any knowledge of charts and proper study of market
Don't diversify your portfolio, i.e. put more than 20% of your money in a single share. Ideally, your portfolio should have 10-15 stocks.
Liquidity:
Due to set procedures, you only receive 80% of the amount from shares sold the same day. The rest 20% comes a day later. Then at the end of the next settlement day, you can put in a request for withdrawal which then takes 1 more day to process. So you can get the complete amount from selling a share within 4 working days.
Mutual Funds
A mutual fund is a company that pools money from many investors and invests the money in securities such as stocks, bonds, and short-term debt. The combined holdings of the mutual fund are known as its portfolio. Investors buy shares in mutual funds.
Risk management:
Mutual funds are a safe investment if you understand them. Investors should not be worried about the short-term fluctuation in returns while investing in equity funds. ... There are several types of mutual funds suitable for different kinds of investors such as aggressive, moderate and conservative.
Liquidity:
Depending on which type of Mutual funds you opted for, the liquidity varies. In short term funds, you are free to apply for withdrawal to your broker and the amount will reflect in your bank account within 3-5 business days. It is recommended that you keep these funds untouched for at least 3 years to avoid paying high taxes on your gains. Some mutual funds like ELSS funds are locked for 3 years so check before investing.
Cryptocurrency
Finally, let's visit the craziest one. Cryptocurrency is a kind of digital electronic-only currency that is intended to act as a medium of exchange. It’s become popular in the last decade, with Bitcoin becoming the leading digital currency. Crypto has become a hot property in the last few years in particular, as dollars have flown into the asset, pushing up prices and drawing even more traders to the action.
Bitcoin is the most widely available cryptocurrency, and its price fluctuates a lot, attracting many traders. For example, from a price below $10,000 a coin at the start of 2020, Bitcoin soared to around $30,000 at the start of 2021. it more than doubled above the $60,000 mark.
Unlike other assets listed here, it’s not backed by the government or a company. Its worth is determined solely by what traders will pay for it. There is an incredible technology behind this asset, to know more read about blockchain and its applications.
Cryptocurrency is good for risk-seeking investors who wouldn’t mind if their investment goes to zero in exchange for the potential of much higher returns. It’s not a good choice for risk-averse investors or those who need any kind of safe investment.
Risk Management
Cryptocurrency has very significant risks, including ones that could turn any individual currency into a complete zero, such as being outlawed. I invested about 50k in about 50 different currencies last year. It started crashing the next day and I ended up with only 20k in my hands. Having done considerable research and being confident of its growth, I kept averaging it for a few months and soon I saw a 50% increment in my portfolio. Digital currencies are highly volatile and may fall (or rise) precipitously even over very short time frames, and the price depends entirely on what traders will pay. Traders also run some risk of being hacked, given some high-profile thefts in the past. And if you’re investing in cryptocurrencies, you’ll have to pick the winners that manage to stick around, when many could well disappear entirely. Diversify your portfolio and do your research. These will provide you with an incredible foundation for your investments.
Liquidity
Cryptocurrencies are generally liquid, especially the major ones such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, and you can buy and sell them at any time of day. However, the commissions on them tend to be very high (relative to typical investments such as stocks), and you’ll need to see significant appreciation simply to break even. So it’s important to find the best broker to minimize these costs.
What to consider
As you’re deciding what to invest in, you’ll want to consider a number of factors, including your risk tolerance, time horizon, your knowledge of investing, your financial situation and how much you can invest.
Risk tolerance
Risk tolerance means how much you can withstand when it comes to fluctuations in the value of your investments. Are you willing to take big risks to potentially get big returns? Or do you need a more conservative portfolio? Risk tolerance can be psychological as well as simply what your personal financial situation requires.
Conservative investors or those nearing retirement may be more comfortable allocating a larger percentage of their portfolios to less-risky investments. Those with stronger stomachs, workers still accumulating a retirement nest egg and those with a decade or more until they need the money are likely to fare better with riskier portfolios, as long as they diversify.
Time horizon
Time horizon simply means when you need the money. Do you need the money tomorrow or in 30 years? Are you saving for a house downpayment in three years or are you looking to use your money in retirement? Time horizon determines what kinds of investments are more appropriate.
If you have a shorter time horizon, you need the money to be in the account at a specific point in time and not tied up. If you have a longer time horizon, you can afford to take some risks with higher-return but more volatile investments. Your time horizon allows you to ride out the ups and downs of the market, hopefully on the way to greater long-term returns. With a longer time horizon, you can invest in stocks and stock funds and then be able to hold them for at least three to five years.
It’s important that your investments are calibrated to your time horizon. You don’t want to put next month’s rent money in the stock market and hope it’s there when you need it.
Your knowledge
Your knowledge of investing plays a key role in what you’re investing in. If you want to invest in assets that require more knowledge like equity, mutual funds and cryptocurrencies, you’ll have to develop your understanding of them. For example, if you want to invest in individual stocks, you need a great deal of knowledge about the company, the industry, the products, the competitive landscape, the company’s finances and much more. Many people don’t have the time to invest in this process.
However, there are ways to take advantage of the market even if you have less knowledge. One of the best is an index fund, which includes a collection of stocks. If any single stock performs poorly, it’s likely not going to affect the index much. In effect, you’re investing in the performance of dozens, if not hundreds, of stocks, which is more a wager on the market’s overall performance.
So you’ll want to understand your knowledge and its limits as you think about investments.
How much you can invest
How much can you bring to an investment? The more money you can invest, the more likely it’s going to be worthwhile to investigate higher-risk, higher-return investments.
Ask yourself:
Do I have immediate expenses that I may have trouble paying?
Do I have an emergency fund with at least six months of spending saved up?
Do I have substantial outstanding debt?
It’s important to have your current financial situation under control before you can invest.
You have multiple ways to invest your money, including the options above. If you want to invest in stocks, bonds or funds, you’ll need to have an account with a broker.
If you’re a new investor, consider sticking with investment choices that are on the safer side. Investments such as mutual funds tend to be safer than a portfolio of a few individual stocks or cryptocurrencies.
Bottom line
Investing can be a great way to build your wealth over time, and investors have a range of investment options, from safe lower-return assets to riskier, higher-return ones. That range means you’ll need to understand the pros and cons of each investment option and how they fit into your overall financial plan in order to make an informed decision. While it seems daunting at first, many investors manage their own assets. If you have savings in 8 figures or more and don’t know what the fuck you should do with that kind of money. Maybe put half in the above profiles and invest in real estate with the rest.