Chances are that you have heard of the phrase financial investment strategies before. But are you really sure what that means? In a simple sense financial investment strategies are rules and guidelines taken by individuals when investing their money that align with the individual’s goals, risk tolerance, and future need for capital.
Typically investment strategies focus on asset allocation, buy and sell guidelines when dealing with stock, and finally risk guidelines. Since there are all sorts of investment strategies an individual can employ, it is important to chose one that most closely aligns to your needs and stick with it over time. If you are interested in investing some of your money into the stock market then there are some guidelines that would be wise to take into consideration.
First of all, individuals need to understand that there are various different kinds of stocks. Consider which kinds of stocks you want to invest in. You could focus on company size, sector, or even type of growth patterns you see happening. Whatever you decide to choose, it is important to diversify your portfolio. Look for stocks that will ensure long term growth, and purchase stock from different industries. This is important because say one sector of the economy goes down, you still have stock in other sectors that can help you to weather the blow.
Another way to diversify your stock options is to look for companies that have a man CEO and companies that have a woman as their CEO. Men and women are wired differently and can bring different things to the table when running a business. In an article speaking about the benefits of gender diversity in the workplace written in October 2012 a RSA survey is mentioned that found “women bring empathy and intuition to leadership…three quarters rated women higher than men for intuition and possessing greater awareness of the motivations and concerns of other people.” Furthermore the survey goes on to say that, “a similar proportion saw women as more empathetic, with a better insight into how decisions play out in the wider organization.” This skill of being able to see how decisions will play out is very important for the CEO of any company to have if they want to be successful. The CEO needs to understand how any decision that they make affects the company as a whole either in a positive or negative way. Further in the article Dr. Gratton of London Business School is quoted saying, “it is different life experiences we want and a woman brings a different perspective. For me, it isn’t about being a woman, it’s more about being a mother-that role has made a difference to my thinking.” This is interesting because if you understand the special bond that a mother has to her child, theoretically she can understand how to make a special connection with her company as a CEO that can help give them an edge.
Although as a society we tend to applaud men running our profitable businesses, there is something to be said about a woman CEO. For instance, as of January 2013 did you know that HP, PepsiCo, Lockheed Martin, Xerox Corporation, Yahoo, Regal Entertainment Group, Jack in the Box and The Neiman Marcus Group all have a woman as their CEO? That being said, those are some great companies to invest in. The last tip when investing in the stock market is to keep in mind that it is far safer and a smarter way to do business to invest in good stocks and hold onto them for a while, rather than getting caught up in the quick fire game of rapid buying and selling. If you want to play the game then you need to allocate a lot of time and effort into watching the market and learning all the tricks. A much safer route is to pick up some good quality stock in a few different sectors of the economy and wide the wave.