Finding the right stock to buy is a rewarding activity. You’ve invested time and resources into finding the ideal stock, but there’s a lot that happens when a stock is purchased that goes beyond monetary exchange.
There are a lot of emotions that take place when you buy stocks.
Keeping these emotions under control is an essential part of being an investor. When you buy stocks, you should:
1. Remove Emotions from the Equation
You should be happy that you’re investing, but don’t become emotionally attached to any singular stock. When you become too attached to a stock, it will cloud your judgment. You may hold on to a stock for too long, or you may increase your position in the company because you’re emotionally attached.
If you want to find success in investing, look at the long-term.
2. Plan for Times When Anxiety Rises
A stock may fall 10% today, and some investors will immediately sell. There are times when selling is a good option, especially when a company doesn’t have the financials to keep the stock price rising.
There will be times when you’re buying or selling a stock and panic will set in.
Emotions may cause you to sell or purchase a stock, but you should be more focused on earning reports and forecasts.
Offloading a stock is a necessity at times, and this includes when you’ve held your position in a stock for years with no success, the company loses a key asset such as a patent or a CEO, a planned merger failed, or the company has failed to innovate and compete in the marketplace.
Anxiety may also be a time when everyone else panics and you profit off of a market slump.
3. Avoid Daily Stock Checking
You’ve invested money in a stock, and if you’re checking the stock price daily, you’re only going to drive yourself crazy in the process. Checking your stocks too often will only lead to anxiety and uncertainty.
Investors should be investing in the long-term, and this means checking how a stock is doing when you receive your quarterly reports.
Market fluctuations happen every day, and short-term events can make a stock fall or rise drastically. When quarterly reports are received, look at the company’s progress and forecasts to determine if you should hold the stock or sell it.
Investors that hold on to stocks based on the stock’s performance and have a firm understanding of how the company generates revenue will be better off than an emotional trader who worries every time the stock price declines.
