Investing does not have to be hard. But the common narrative is that it is.
"You cannot compete with institutional investors."
"Bankers and their algorithms and IT-systems will beat you in a millisecond."
"Banks or asset managers have big departments of well-educated analysts."
This is what you're constantly told. It's understandable if you're discouraged but you should not be.
(read more about the retail investor advantages)
The fact of life is that you can actually compete**. Even the professionals have bad quarters or even bad years despite the hoards of clever people they employ. However, clients seem to be much more forgiving of the professionals' mistakes than of their own mistakes and miscalculations. It's much easier to forgive people we believe are smarter than us.
A friend of mine recently showed me the result of his bank managing his financial assets. They invested his funds primarily into stocks and with mixed results. Several years of 5-10% gains but also a case of a year with a 15% loss. All added up there was no reason to be impressed. I firmly believe that with a bit of skill and intelligence, you can reach the same results or better.
All the magic happens in your analysis and preparation. This page is meant as a place for me to share my investing philosophy and to inspire you to start investing. Or if you are already investing maybe I can inspire you and help you improve. That is my mission.
(Please read my disclaimer)
Good luck and happy investing!
**These pages do not currently cover day-trading which in my opinion is only to be performed by professionals or skilled retail investors.