At a glance…
Investing. Something that you can do to ensure that you have some money for the day that you retire. However, this is something that many people are afraid of doing. Due to lack of information or because they are afraid to lose money instead of getting some returns back.
With this beginner’s guide, we are giving you all the information you need so that you can start your investor journey. Give you all the information about the different types of investment options, the risks involved, and how you can reduce the risks. You will also get to know more about brokers, and if this is something that you should consider when you are investing in any of the available investments.
What is an investment
What exactly is an investment? This is something that you are buying, or putting money into to get a return on. To get some profit along the line from the investment.
There are many different types of investment options you can choose from. Some are buying shares of a product or service. Or, investing in property, where you are getting monthly returns in the form of rent. Some investments aren’t risky at all, while other investments can have a high risk of not getting any return.
Another thing that is essential when it comes to investments, is the scams or illegal investment schemes that are available. Especially on the internet. Investors in Singapore lose millions of dollars every year because of illegal investments.
Different types of investments available at the moment
When you are considering an investment, you need to know what type of investment you are going to do. There are a variety of different investments to choose from. Some giving higher returns than others. In order to choose the right investment, you need to know the different investment options available at the moment.
-
Investing in shares
Investing in shares is one of the most popular investments at the moment. You are buying shares in a company, or even in service and wait for it to give returns. Depending on the success of the company or service, your share’s value will increase or decrease.
You can use the returns from the shares each month, or you can sell the shares when the price is right. Making a huge profit in the process. -
Investing in forex or cryptocurrencies
This is where you are buying/trading either other foreign or crytpo currency. You are basically speculating that a particular currency will be more valuable in the future.Then, you can wait till the purchased foreign or crypto currency is reaching a desired rate. Withdraw or sell the currency again, and get a profit. At the moment, Bitcoin and Ethereum among others are the most popular crypto currencies.
-
Investing in property
By investing in property, you are actually buying a building. It can be a commercial, residential or industrial property. You can buy the property on your own, or buy shares in the property.This is an investment where you can get monthly returns in the form of rent. This is a great investment because the property doesn’t increase in value. It’s also the safest option, but buying property isn’t cheap. You will need a lot of money for this type of investment.
Info about the returns from investments
The moment that you invest in a good investment, you will have the possibility of getting a return on the investment. Meaning that you will get some profit when you sell your investment, or when the investment starts paying out.
There are three different types of returns that you can get from an investment:
- Dividends. This is something that can pay out monthly, every six months, or every year. The dividend amount will depend on how valuable your shares are. The more shares you have, the higher the dividends will be.
- Rent. This is when you are investing in properties. Even if you are buying properties with other investors. This is a monthly return and can be used as a salary if the rent is high enough to make a living off. The higher the value of the property, the more rent you will get.
- Selling Investment. The difference between the price you pay for your investment and the price you sell it for. This can be a return on any of the mentioned investments. Even if you are selling your shares or property. This is also the return when you are investing in money and cryptocurrencies. The profit that you are making is your return on your investment.
Risks involved with investments
Something important to remember is that there are always risks involved when it comes to investments. The shares that you bought can decrease in value and it can mean nothing to you. The building that you have purchased can be a scam and you are going to lose everything you have put into the building.
With money investments and cryptocurrency investments, the risk is also high. You buying money at a certain value. But, the value decreases, and when you sell it, you don’t make any returns on it. However, the main risk is people that are conning people. Creating investments that aren’t real, and taking all the money they made and disappear. This is something you hear about, every day.
Using investment brokers or robo-advisors can reduce risks
A possible avenue to reduce the risks of investments is to make use of an investment broker or robo-advisors to manage your investment portfolio. These brokers are watching the market for you, auto manage your portfolio (robo-advisor), sell your assets before the value decrease too much to reduce risks. This is something to consider when you think about investing in different assets.
There are brokers that you can visit in their office, usually their fees are a bit higher. Then there are robo-advisors or online brokers. You are just talking to them via the internet. Their fees are lower, but you don’t get personal interactions.
This is everything you need to know about investments, the risks, and the type of return you can expect.