Emotional Investing Decisions

Investing based on emotions or instincts is a difficult issue.

So challenging that an entire field, Behavioural Finance, examines how investor psychology and emotions affect investment decisions.

Recently I read an article where the author believes that financial planners prefer clients with little investment knowledge. That way, it is easier to sell them whatever you want.

Yes, there are financial planners, brokers, etc., that operate this way. But in my experience, good financial planners would rather deal with well-educated investors.

And often the reason relates directly to emotional investing.  (more…)

Photo for Sale

I took a great photo the other day and am looking to sell it.

What would you pay?

It is a pretty picture. Lovely river, green grass.  (more…)

Should investors be buying gold?

A good question for today.

An equally good question is should you rely on expert advice? (more…)

Rebalance Through Profit Taking

In How to Rebalance an Investment Portfolio, I stated that it is generally preferable to reallocate future acquisitions rather than divesting existing assets to get back to your target asset allocation.

A big reason for this is to defer capital gains taxes payable from selling outperforming assets. The longer you keep your wealth in your possession, the better your compound returns will be. This is a problem when triggering taxes on asset sales.  (more…)

Money Making Mistakes

Some interesting examples of money making mistakes courtesy of CNNMoney.

Superficially, they each provide decent advice for individuals.

But they also provide deeper lessons for investors.

And an overall moral that applies to all examples.  (more…)

Discipline With Dollar Cost Averaging

I like disciplined investing.

For me that means following a well-planned strategy, with minimal emotion.

Unfortunately, many investors are not disciplined.  (more…)

Liquidity Risk for Investors

Liquidity is an extremely important consideration when analyzing investments.

For investors, liquidity relates to the ease in buying or selling an asset.

Time delays and pressures or fluctuations in pricing, make it difficult for investors to minimize their purchase costs or maximize their sales prices. (more…)

Investment strategies can be used to reduce the risk of getting caught in a bursting investment bubble. Here are a few practical strategies for consideration.

1. Diversify Your Investment Portfolio (more…)

Avoiding an investment bubble is not as easy as it may seem. If it were, investors would take appropriate steps and the bubble would never be created in the first place.

So what can you do to avoid losing a lot of money quickly?  Let us consider some common sense avoidance tips.

(more…)

Learning to Spot an Investment Bubble

Learning how to invest while young is likely the best investment in time you will ever make. You can attempt a variety of strategies on paper. If they succeed, they may be used with real money once you have some to invest. If they do not, you learn a valuable lesson without losing any money.

Today, let us look at ways to practice identifying investment bubbles.   (more…)

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