Many new Investors believe the stock market to be a win or lose situation. However, it is not that black and white. Successful investors understand that investing is a gamble. They watch the market and contribute some of their savings on a regular basis. The choices that they make are well though out decisions and are wise investments. You must stick with oyur investments when the market is up and even when the market is down.
You must remember that no matter what you choose to invest in there is no guarentee that you are going to make a profit. Your money is always going ot be at some type of risk meaing you may end up with less than you stated. However, with knowledge you can improve your chances of making a successful investment.
You must determine what kind of portfolio is going to serve you best. Every investor has a different amount of rewards that they want to achieve. The higher the amount return you are looking for, the higher your risk factor is going to be. You must balance your risks according to your circumstances keeping in mind your reward goal.
There are many different investment options. When first starting out you may be a little reluctant in choosing which type to try. Like the idea of investing a little bit at a time? The you should try the dollar cost averaging approuch. This strategy is a fixed investment that occurs automatically every week or every month through the pouorchase of a security. Again, this approach does not gaurantee a profit and it does not prevent you from investment losses, but the average cost of your sharwes tends to be lower than if had bought them all at once with the same amount.
source: ShareBuilder

