by: jamesw
Total views: 1
Word Count: 458

Every share investor enjoys hunting out profitable companies they can invest in, and hopefully finding a potential ten-bagger that will make them rich, but there comes a time when you have to analyze your portfolio and make harsh decisions if you're not beating the overall market. After all what is the point in spending hours and hours researching different companies if the end result is that you are underperforming the overall market. You may as well just invest in a tracker fund that tracks the market or a top performing mutual fund and spend your time doing more worthwhile things. I know it can be quite exciting doing your own research and investing in the companies of your choice, but professionals are paid to do the same job and will generally have access to more information than you do, and can make better informed decisions. So take a look at your share portfolio over the years and see how it's performed in percentage terms. Then compare this to the performance of the FTSE 100, for example (or the Dow Jones if investing in US shares) and see how you compare. If you find that the overall index has seriously outperformed your own efforts then something is seriously wrong here, and it might be an idea to seriously rethink your investment strategy. For instance, taking the FTSE 100 as an example, this index has increased dramatically since 2003 almost doubling in value so almost all good quality companies will have risen a lot during this time. Now look at the companies you've been investing in. If they haven't risen during this time when the market as a whole has been extremely bullish, then your investment strategy is seriously flawed. If however, you have achieved excellent gains in percentage terms then your individual share picking strategy is of course justified, although it might still be an idea to place your money in a tracker or mutual fund, depending on your performance. This isn't always true though, because it's important to note that portfolio managers have more constraints placed on them in terms of the types of companies they can invest in, plus of course there's the added fees you have to pay for their service, so ultimately it's a matter of choice and convenience. I personally have done extremely well investing in my own portfolio over the years and have plenty of time to do my own research. However for people who have busy lives and have maybe shown that they are not that successful in managing their own portfolio and selecting individual companies to invest in, then paying someone else to do it for you is probably the better option.

About the Author

James Woolley runs a blog that discusses all aspects of money including shares, property, running your own business, and basically how to build wealth in general. Visit this site now by clicking on the following link: http://letsdiscussmoney.com

---

View PDF | Print View

---

Rating: Not yet rated

--Choose-- 0 1 2 3 4 5

Comments

No comments posted.

Add Comment

You do not have permission to comment. If you log in, you may be able to comment.
Next Article - Learning to Win with Stocks Even If You're Losing
Previous Article - How to Invest In Stocks

More Related Articles In This Category

1: What are Bull Markets and Bear Markets?
2: What Causes Stock Prices To Go Up And Down?
3: Option Trading - As Risky As The Reputation?...
4: Online Trading; Why I Hate Economists!
5: Online Stock Trading - Is It Right For You?...
6: Is a Financial Market Last Straw Event on the Way?
7: Who Sets a Stock's Price?
8: Compound Stock Earnings Programs - Caveat Investor
9: Stock Exchanges - An Introduction
10: Day Trading The Extreme Sport Of Investing
11: The Fall of the Bond Markets
12: For Stock, Futures and Forex Traders The Biggest Battle To Succeed Is Within, But Why?
13: Do You Run With the Stock Market Herd?
14: Ethanol Producing Companies as Stock Investments
15: Stock Trading Made Too Easy
16: New Bull Market Surge Underway?
17: Tips For Stock Market Trading- Beginners' Guide
18: What's The Difference Between Technical and Fundamental Investing?
19: What is Short Selling and How to Benefit From It?
20: Setting Specific Investing Goals
21: There Is No Place For Emotions In The Stock Market
22: You Will Never Make Money Trading Stocks, Futures Or Forex Part 4
23: Is Insider Trading Illegal?
24: Painful First Quarter for World Financial Markets
25: You Can Be A Stock Market Investor

---

For WebMasters

Link This Article - HTML Code -

<a href="http://americanahost.com/articles/finance/stock-market-investing/stop-trading-individual-shares-if-you-re-not-beating-the-market.html" target=_blank>Stop Trading Individual Shares If You're Not Beating The Market</a>

Link This Article - BBcode -

[url=http://americanahost.com/articles/finance/stock-market-investing/stop-trading-individual-shares-if-you-re-not-beating-the-market.html]Stop Trading Individual Shares If You're Not Beating The Market[/url]

Copy This HTML Code To Put This Article In Your Web Site.

<h1>Stop Trading Individual Shares If You're Not Beating The Market</h1><br><br> <br><br> Every share investor enjoys hunting out profitable companies they can invest in, and hopefully finding a potential ten-bagger that will make them rich, but there comes a time when you have to analyze your portfolio and make harsh decisions if you're not beating the overall market. After all what is the point in spending hours and hours researching different companies if the end result is that you are underperforming the overall market. You may as well just invest in a tracker fund that tracks the market or a top performing mutual fund and spend your time doing more worthwhile things. I know it can be quite exciting doing your own research and investing in the companies of your choice, but professionals are paid to do the same job and will generally have access to more information than you do, and can make better informed decisions. So take a look at your share portfolio over the years and see how it's performed in percentage terms. Then compare this to the performance of the FTSE 100, for example (or the Dow Jones if investing in US shares) and see how you compare. If you find that the overall index has seriously outperformed your own efforts then something is seriously wrong here, and it might be an idea to seriously rethink your investment strategy. For instance, taking the FTSE 100 as an example, this index has increased dramatically since 2003 almost doubling in value so almost all good quality companies will have risen a lot during this time. Now look at the companies you've been investing in. If they haven't risen during this time when the market as a whole has been extremely bullish, then your investment strategy is seriously flawed. If however, you have achieved excellent gains in percentage terms then your individual share picking strategy is of course justified, although it might still be an idea to place your money in a tracker or mutual fund, depending on your performance. This isn't always true though, because it's important to note that portfolio managers have more constraints placed on them in terms of the types of companies they can invest in, plus of course there's the added fees you have to pay for their service, so ultimately it's a matter of choice and convenience. I personally have done extremely well investing in my own portfolio over the years and have plenty of time to do my own research. However for people who have busy lives and have maybe shown that they are not that successful in managing their own portfolio and selecting individual companies to invest in, then paying someone else to do it for you is probably the better option.<br><br> <h3>About The Author</h3> James Woolley runs a blog that discusses all aspects of money including shares, property, running your own business, and basically how to build wealth in general. Visit this site now by clicking on the following link: http://letsdiscussmoney.com<br><br> Keywords: <b>shares,investing,investing in shares,trading shares,beating market,mutual funds,tracker funds</b> <br><br>Article Source : <a href="http://americanahost.com/articles"><b>Articles Directory</b></a></br> Article URL : <a href="http://americanahost.com/articles/finance/stock-market-investing/stop-trading-individual-shares-if-you-re-not-beating-the-market.html" target=_blank>Stop Trading Individual Shares If You're Not Beating The Market</a></br> Article Category : <a href="http://americanahost.com/articles/finance/stock-market-investing/">Stock Market Investing</a></br> Article Author : <a href="http://americanahost.com/articles/profile/jamesw-245.html">jamesw</a>

---

Article URL : Stop Trading Individual Shares If You're Not Beating The Market
Article Category : Stock Market Investing
Article Author : jamesw