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Investment
advisers say that if you don't have the knowledge of
the market nor the time to plan and monitor your investments;
it is best not to trade shares yourself but to invest
in unit trust funds, where professional fund managers
are likely to do a better job of managing your investments.
However,
in Malaysia, it is common for executives, housewives,
retirees, and even hawkers to dabble in the |
share market. Some manage to make some profit in the short-term
while others are stuck for a longer-term when they buy shares
at high prices, and continue to hold on to them even when the
market plunges. How do we manage the risk of the market trending
in the opposite direction to what we expect? When do we cut
loss?
This
is a series of seven lessons to introduce the basic concepts
of investing. From explaining the need to have a financial
plan, to working out your surplus income, the lessons progress
to a brief introduction of fundamental analysis and technical
analysis, which are methods of valuing shares. If such terms
have intimidated you before, follow through the lessons and
you will gain an understanding of what they are about, and
how they can help you. However, readers are reminded that
the information provided is solely for educational purposes
and not meant as professional or legal advice.
Lesson
1: Why invest?
 |
Why
it is important to have knowledge of investing. |
|
Why
it is important to have a plan and how you can achieve
it. |
|
How
you can accumulate the resources you will need to carry
out your plan. |
Lesson
2: Build a surplus
|
How
to keep and maintain a personal balance sheet and income
statement. |
|
Why
you need to make an assessment of your assets and liabilities. |
Lesson 3:
Begin to invest
|
Invest
prudently |
|
Understand
why time should be your investment partner |
|
Use
the principal of diversification to minimise risk in structuring
your portfolio |
Lesson
4: Invest in what?
|
Learn
how to allocate your assets. |
|
Learn
about several other exchange products that if used selectively
and with understanding can enhance your performance. |
Lesson
5: Build an equity portfolio
|
Know
how to find and invest in shares that meet your investment
objectives. |
|
Know the character traits of successful investors. |
Lesson
6: Valuing shares
|
To
be familiar with the fundamental and technical analysis
process |
|
Managing
risk |
Lesson
7: Other investment products
|
Discover
more about other investment products |
|
Find
out if an investment product fits your needs |
|
Learn
how to use the EPF withdrawal scheme for investing |
| Lesson
8: Module 1 - Time value of money |
Which
would be your choice? To receive RM1,000 today or RM1,000
in 5 years’ time?
Obviously,
your answer will be RM1,000 today. The reason is money
received sooner rather than later allows one to use
the funds for investment or consumption purposes. This
concept is referred to as the time value of money (TVM).
To find out more about this concept, click
here |
| Lesson
9: Module 2 - Measuring risks and returns of an investment
|
| As
an investor who invests in stocks or unit trusts, do
you really know how to calculate the holding period
return or yield from your investment? Does the word
variance, standard deviation or coefficient of variation
sound like Greek to you? Click
here to learn more about measuring your returns
and risks in an investment.
|
| Lesson
11: Module 4 -
Stock market indices
|
| “How
did the index close at today?” is a frequently asked
question among investors. But what does it really mean?
Find out about the significance of stock market indices
to investors and the investing process here.
|
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