An Investing Guide For Beginners

By Amanda L Hope

This is a self-help book for individuals who would like to gain some insights on investments. It is written in simple layman's terms for easy understanding. You will be introduced to various types of investment products that are available in the market like stocks, options, bonds, currencies, structured products, commodities, properties, mutual funds, etc. A general and yet comprehensive information about investment is covered. How does an economic cycle affect your investment? Some points on insurance are shared as bonus too. This is highly recommended as one of your first investment book for all new comers. D.I.Y. investors will be able to find many useful information and links provided in this book that will save them lots of time and hassle from research. Success is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. You cannot invest just purely based on luck alone. You need to do some homework and reading this book is your very first homework.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amanda L Hope
• Release date: Dec 6, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311312198

Amanda L Hope

Amanda was a certified insurance agent and financial planner. She holds a professional marketing qualification, Post Graduate Diploma from The Chartered Institute of Marketing, United Kingdom (C.I.M) and a Master's in Business Administration (M.B.A) from University of Southern Queensland, Australia. She stepped away from a high paying corporate job at the height of her career as a General Manager of a multi-national organization after being a successful investor on her own. She is prompted to write this book to share her insights, experiences and knowledge after realizing that there are many out there who do not have any clue about investments. Her sound knowledge on economics and insurance that she shared in her book is an invaluable guide to all investors.

Book preview

An Investing Guide For Beginners

by Amanda L. Hope

Copyright 2013 Amanda L. Hope

Smashwords Edition (2nd)

Preface

I am prompted to write this book after reading so many disheartening news of people especially elderly folks who have lost their entire life savings when they invest solely based on people's advice. This book is a useful self-help book for individuals who would like to gain some insights on investments. D.I.Y. investors will be able to find many useful information and links provided in this book that will save them lots of time and hassle from researching.

You will be introduced to various types of investment products like stocks, options, bonds, currencies, structured products, commodities, properties, mutual funds, etc. As a qualified insurance agent and financial planner, I will briefly share some points on insurance as a bonus. After you have decided on what is the best investment tool for yourself, you can get some basic ideas and clues on each of them and their accessibility. Many useful links are provided to save you time from research. Reading this book is the very first step for you to be on the way to achieving financial freedom through investment. The earlier you start off, the sooner you will reach your goal. Congratulations for taking this first step!

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Introduction to investment

2. Why do we need to invest?

a. Inflation

b. Financial freedom and insurance

3. Investment products

a. Stocks and options

b. Bonds

c. Currencies

d. Structured products

e. Commodities

f. Real estate and REIT

g. Mutual funds

h. Exchange traded funds (ETFs)

4. How to invest?

a. Risk tolerance assessment

b. Asset or investment allocation

c. External factors (PEST)

5. Conclusion

a. Beware of ponzi schemes

b. Golden rules

1. Introduction to investment

Although the word 'investment' is a pretty common word among bankers, businessmen and the rich and famous, it is still very much a jargon to most people, especially the middle working class. Investment is defined as an act of devoting time, effort or energy to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result in accordance to Oxford Dictionaries. It can be defined too as a thing that is worth buying because it may be profitable or useful in the future. Traditionally, there used to be limited investment opportunities for the mass due to accessibility. Previously, only high-net-worth individuals have access to private bankers or international banks which provide various platforms for investment. In Merrill Lynch-Capgemini World's Wealth Report 2009, high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) are defined as those who hold at least US$1 million in financial assets. That means, if you do not possess the amount, you will have very limited options.

I will still urge you to read this book regardless if you are one of the privileged ones that are serviced by bank relationship managers or not. This is because the bank's staff are normally trained to sell the particular bank's investment products only, thus limiting your options. It is advisable to find out more details about the proposed investment to understand the 'risk' associated with it. Normally the higher the expected return, the greater the risk. Please bear in mind, not all investment products sold by banks are perfectly safe and risk free and one of the greatest lesson for all to remember is 'Lehman Brothers and its financial notes known as mini bonds'.

HIGH RETURN = HIGH RISK

Thanks to technology advancement, we are no longer required to be HNWIs to have accessibility to various platforms of investment vehicles. The internet has changed the dynamics of investment to the benefit of the greater mass. Nowadays, you can invest in various investment products from various countries, a dream that is impossible without internet to bridge the gap. Nevertheless, most people still do not have a personalized advisor, a private banker or relationship manager to guide them along the way. Therefore, you should start by understanding your own needs and requirement because every type of investment comes with a risk. As the saying goes 'no