YES, definitely! These are the best of times to invest in the stock market. If you are not trading stocks now, you are missing the longest bull run in history. It may not be too late. We may still have a year or two before the party is over. Returns have been awesome. The internet has made it easier to research. Brokers have reduced commissions. Some even offer free trades. Technology has made trading fast and easy with your mobile phone. Get off the couch and jump in the stock market.
Start with a few small trades:
If you don’t have knowledge or confidence in trading stocks, start slow – perhaps with a few trades of cheap pharmaceuticals or biotechs. If you don’t have time because you have a job, run your own business, or raise a family, consider ETF (Exchange Traded Funds) that you can leave alone as passive investment. Google how to trade ETFs. Watch YouTube videos. Get your feet wet. I know – it’s scary to venture into a strange field where you can make or lose money. This is why you need to kick off with a few small trades and gradually trade more as your confidence grows.
If you need a little convincing:
Let me relate a real life example with my cousin’s retirement plan at work. I took over his portfolio and earned more than what she did in 15 years. Instruct your investment adviser to transfer 10 percent from their usual conservative holdings to aggressive funds. Chances are that 10 percent will outearn the 90 percent funds. Take a little risk. Anyway you still have that slow earning 90 percent in a safer and more conservative fund.
Caution:
Investors have a history of buying and selling at the wrong time so do your research before taking a long position (meaning buying). Remember the dot-com bubble? The stock market hit its peak then burst. Nervous investors who went on a sell-off lost; those who stayed reaped huge gains that followed.
In Conclusion:
These are golden years of making money in the stock market, but it has been nine years. You need to get in soon before these good times end.
PS:
While my column for Asian Journal has always been about taxes, the stock market is so fantastic that I could no longer ignore it. I’ve been investing in the stock market for 40 years and have done quite well. I’d like to impart some knowledge to our faithful readers and hopefully convince some to start trading and make money… before this Bull Run ends. Accordingly, our subject switches to Stock Tips for the remainder of 2018.
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Victor Santos Sy graduated Cum Laude from UE with a BBA and from Indiana State University with an MBA. Vic worked with SyCip, Gorres, Velayo (SGV – Andersen Consulting) and Ernst & Young before establishing Sy Accountancy Corporation in Pasadena, California.
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He has 50 years of experience in defending taxpayers audited by the IRS, FTB, EDD, BOE and other governmental agencies. He is publishing a book on his expertise – “HOW TO AVOID OR SURVIVE IRS AUDITS.” Our readers may inquire about the book or email tax questions at [email protected].