Feb 28 2008

The 3 Things That Will Make You Better Than 99% of Investors


Number 1 Investor

Want to know the three things that will make you better than 99% of the investing population? It is not rocket science nor does is it require you to do anything out the ordinary. Here they are:

1. Start Investing Today

The sooner you can start investing the better. Don’t worry if you think you are too old or too young, the key is to start investing today. The reason for this is to allow compounding to work right away. Here is an graphic from H&R Block that explains compounding (a picture tells a thousand words):

Compound GrowthClick to Enlarge

2. Continue to Invest Through the Market’s Ups and Downs

The market is going to go up and down. The key is to not let your emotions through these ups and downs influence your investment decisions. By not acting on your emotions you will do better than 99% of investors out there. Take this quote from Peter Lynch into account:

Far more money has been lost by investors in preparing for corrections, or anticipating corrections, than has been lost in the corrections themselves.
—Peter Lynch, Worth (September 1995)

3. Diversify Into A Quality Asset Allocation

The two key items here are diversify and asset allocation and a properly diversified portfolio stems partially from your asset allocation. Diversification means spreading out your assets among non-correlated assets so as to spread your risk around. You do this by choosing an asset allocation that meets the objectives of your risk profile. It is the asset allocation of a portfolio that determines the future gains you can expect, as indicated in the following image which I have displayed many times before on this blog:

Asset Allocation Portfolio FunnelClick to Enlarge

Diversify your investments into a well constructed asset allocation and you will be investing than 99% of investors.

Summary

There are some basic things that an investor can do that will put them far ahead of the majority of investors. Start now, continue to invest, and diversify into a well constructed asset allocation. Simple tips but very powerful.

(Photo Credit: zeth lorenzo)



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9 Comments on this post

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  1. Another JLP Roundup—AllFinancialMatters wrote:

    [...] 3 things that will make you better than 99% of investors. – Yeah, it’s all common sense but it’s amazing how many people lack common [...]

    February 29th, 2008 at 11:34 am
  2. Carnival of Personal Finance #142 - The Homeless Edition — The Baglady wrote:

    [...] Dividend Guy presents The 3 Things That Will Make You Better Than 99% of Investors. This is a simple article that gives you some common sense tips on how to become a better [...]

    March 3rd, 2008 at 1:52 am
  3. The Honest Dollar | Triple Play: Vote for Me, Weekly Round-up, Monthly Check-up wrote:

    [...] “You Can’t Be a Lazy Investor” at The Dividend Guy. I’m having issues with laziness when it comes to investing, so I’ve been investigating target-dated retirement funds. The Dividend Guy makes me feel bad about it – and that’s a good thing! Fortunately, later in the week Dividend Guy summarizes “The 3 Things That Will Make You Better than 99% of Investors.” [...]

    March 3rd, 2008 at 7:12 am
  4. Value For Your Life wrote:

    Weekly Money Carnival Picks…

    This was another great week for the blog carnivals!  Broke Grad Student hosted an appropriately Ramen-themed Festival of Frugality.  A big thank you for your efforts and for including my article on 25 Ways to Save Money.  My favourite picks from th…

    March 5th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
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    [...] time. As I have written about time and time again, the power of a dividend growth portfolio is the compounded growth that an investor receives . As new dividends come into the account from the companies paying [...]

    December 31st, 2008 at 5:00 am
  6. Best Finance and Investing Articles from 2008 | Darwin's Finance wrote:

    [...] The Dividend Guy shows us three simple things an investor can do to improve their performance in the stock market – to the tune of better than 99% of investors. [...]

    February 1st, 2009 at 10:34 pm
  7. The Best Posts in 2008 from Around the Blogosphere | Rfidststemsonline wrote:

    [...] The Dividend Guy shows us three simple things an investor can do to improve their performance in the stock market – to the tune of better than 99% of investors. [...]

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    [...] time. If all assets in your portfolio are heading down in the same time then those assets are too correlated. Granted, in times of extreme market action (think 2008/09) then everything can go down at the same [...]

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