Investment Basics

Just starting out on your investment journey?

Have you been investing for a while and need a refresher?

A smart investor takes the time to be clear on the basic principles of investing and uses these to improve investing skills over time and more importantly, to avoid the costly pitfalls.

• Where are you now?
• Where do you want to go?
• How are you going to get there?

 Where are you now?

The first step on your journey to successful investing involves some calculations and analysis:

• Budget basics – know whether you have the capacity to invest or not
• Net worth – get a clear picture of your starting point
• Psychology of investing – know your investing strengths and weakness

 Where do you want to go?

Once you clarify your start point it is important to understand where you are going and why:

• Investing goals – clarify your goals and the time you have available will help determine your choice of investments
• Risks – understand risks to determine your sleep at night factor
• Power of compounding – understand how this powerful concept can help you reach your goals

 How are you going to get there?

Now that you have identified your goals and tolerance for risk you should:

• Investment structure - consider which strategy might best suit you
• Asset classes - understand how they fit into the big picture
  

Warning It is important that you consider all these key questions before making your first investment. Getting it wrong here can have huge implications down the track so we encourage you to explore the Investment basics section in detail to ensure you have made the decisions that are right for you.