Category: How to Master in Trading – Advanced

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This category – How to Master In Trading – Advanced is directed at elite traders. The impressive thing is that all posts and articles are very precise in explanation no matter how complicated the subject is. All advanced trading techniques, methods, strategies are understandable thanks to comprehensive and detailed explanations.

Forex Trading – Simple Tricks to Master it

4 min read

Forex trading could lead to high returns of investment. This article will explain how

Forex trading – the CONCEPT:

Forex represents the foreign exchange/currency market. The word forex itself is made of two English words: foreign and exchange and signifies the purchase of currencies from different countries.

Unlike other stock exchanges, Forex does not have its physical seat in a city. It exists in an electronic network consisting of large financial institutions.

Also unlike other financial assets – Currency needs to be at a balance point!

Why Forex industry has to be at a balance point (UNLIKE STOCKS for example)?

Because let’s think about a country, like the USA. Its currency is USD and you can invest your money on USD comparing, say, Euro. So if the USD is increased (or Euro is decreased) you gain a profit.

But inside the USA – the interests are different.

Forex trading is an industry of importers and industry of exporters.

Let’s say I’m an importer that lives in the USA, and I import apples from Mexico. And just for the explanation, we say that 1USD (US Dollar) = 2 MXN (Mexico’s currency).

Now I make a deal with my fellow Mexican that I buy apples for the worth of 2 million MXN (and it costs me 1 million USD).

Now, if the USD will get stronger, and now we say that 1 USD = 3 MXN.

See? I’m losing money because I could have bought my goods for a lot more money at the same price I spend (1 million Dollars).

But let’s say it’s the opposite – I’m the exporter. My fellow Mexican buy from me apples at the same original deal. This means he buys from me at 2 million MXN and I get 1 million Dollar. But then, the Dollar is rising and now it’s worth 1 USD = 3 MXN. He still buys at 2 million, right? So now those 2 million worth approx. 0.67 million USD. Now I’m LOSING money because of MY OWN currency worth more. That’s Forex. It has to have a balance point because if not we’ll have our own people losing.

Today, Forex is the largest financial market, which has a daily turnover of around $ 5.5 trillion a day. You can complete this whole process online.

The term currency market means the sale of one currency with the simultaneous purchase of the other.

As currency pairs are traded, in order to profit from the shift in the exchange rate, you need to buy the currency that you think will strengthen and sell the other.

YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ about How to Become A Trader or Investor in Just 10 Minutes

There is no need to wait for a growing market to profit. At any moment, one currency will strengthen in relation to the other.

The Forex market is constantly creating opportunities for investment.

Since nothing concrete and tangible anything is bought and sold, this type of trade can be a little confusing. You should think that you are buying a part of the value of a country.

If you buy a Japanese yen, you are buying a part of the Japanese economy that is in direct correlation with what the market thinks about the current and future health of the Japanese economy.

Generally, the established exchange rate of the two currencies is a ratio that reflects the state of one economy in relation to the state of another economy (the state, the currency).

Forex is opened 24 hours a day, except on weekends, so that Sunday trading starts on Sunday from 21:15 CET and runs until Friday at 23:00 CET. During the day there are several time intervals that coincide with the working hours of the world’s largest stock markets.

Who trades on the FX market?

Forex traders can be classified into two groups, hedgers and speculators.

Hedgers: governments, companies (importers and exporters) and some investors who are exposed to exchange rate changes.

Speculators: This group, which includes banks, funds, corporations, and individuals, creates artificial pressure on the course in order to profit from variations or price movements.

YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ about Algo/Algorithm trading in financial markets

Basic terms of Forex trading

Pip – Represents a change in the ratio of the currency by one decimal. It is the smallest unit change course. Pip is the last decimal in a currency relationship

Stop and Limit – Orders – Often the trader wants to limit the loss in the position he has opened (in that case he sets the “stop” order). Or the trader wants to take profit at a certain level, which is acceptable to him/she (in this case he sets a “limit” order).

Long – Used for the purchase order

Short – Tension used for a sales order

Bid – Bid price

Ask – The price that is claimed

Buy – Shopping

Sell – Sale

Spread – The difference between the sale and purchase price

Chart – Graph

Timeframe – Time period

Leverage – Multiplies the amount of money you invest

Candlestick – Candlesticks show that emotion by visually representing the size of price moves with different colors. Red means the starting price was higher than the closing price at a certain time. Green means it ended higher than the starting point.

How to read candlestick graph: To every time period

Open – The price of an asset at the start of a time period
Close – The price of the same asset at the END of the same time period
High – The highest price the asset reached during that time period
Low – The lowest price the asset reached at the same time
Time period – Can be from 1 minute to one year

What is needed to trade on Forex?

Before you start trading the currency, you need to open an account with a Forex broker. Our recommendation is that before you decide on trading on Forex, open a demo account with one of the brokers.

You can use a trustworthy Forex broker.

So that through the use of the platform, you will be able to monitor market activities and learn more.

YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ about the best Forex trading styles

Conditions for Success Forex trading

You must have a good knowledge of technical and fundamental analysis, as well as managing your account. You should also know the psychological aspect of the trade and that you are disciplined. Also, in Forex trading, you should learn about the country you’re betting on or against.

To be able to trade Forex successfully, there is a whole world of education, really extensive analysis. Also, the countless hours of tracking a very large number of relevant and potentially relevant information.

YOU WOULD LIKE TO READ How To Choose The Best Forex Program

All without any guarantee that the right decision will be made.

So once again, the investment rule has been confirmed: high risk must be taken to achieve high income.

Risk Disclosure (read carefully!)

67% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether
you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

8th January 2019
Tricks of The Trade

Don’t eve try to find or use tricks in the trade, here is why.

By Guy Avtalyon

There are no tricks of the trade. You will find no hacks or cheat-sheets. All you can find are countless strategies to choose from depending on your trading style and many wise practices to follow.

In short: Learn before earn. Whenever it seems something is very obvious, first see how the market is behaving before making up your mind to go long or short. Start with paper trading. Learn Technical and Fundamental analysis. Access your risk ability and only take positions in which you are comfortable with possible loss.

After many hours and a lot of coffee, we had one conclusion: There are 3 types of trade. You have to choose your strategy. If you make the right pick and learn a lot you have a chance to become a master in it.

At first, you should get theoretical knowledge about the market.

Educate yourself and read special books. Read blogs. You can find a good piece of advice there. Make out a trading strategy or taking an already working one (find it on the Internet), test it, and see how it works. Try to master it. But don’t go away from its rules (you can change the rules, of course).

Practice. You need practice. Start with a demo account. All of them are free and you can get even several accounts from different brokers to compare them and find the best one for you. Then continue with trading real money, decide what strategy is yours, and start making money!

Remember, that you should keep in mind all the tips or tricks of the trade which you will learn from literature. You will have to make all your decisions logic and automatic. After some time, when you’ll be experienced enough, you should feel the ground. Meet your losses and wins as a lesson.

Define your goals and choose a trading style

It is important to have some idea about where are you going. You have to have clear goals. Then check your trading method is capable to achieve these goals. Each trading style has a different risk profile. That requires a certain attitude and approach to trade successfully.

You have to be sure your character fits the style of trading you deal with. The mismatch will lead to stress and definite losses. Learn and practice.

It is better than trying to find tricks of the trade.

Take this small tip regarding calculating expectancy:

Expectancy is the formula you use to determine how reliable your system is. You should go back in time and measure all your trades that were winners versus losers. Then determine how profitable your winning trades were versus how much your losing trades lost.

Take a look at your last 10 trades. If you haven’t made actual trades yet, go back on your chart to where your system would have indicated that you should enter and exit a trade. Determine if you would have made a profit or a loss. Write these results down. Total all your winning trades and divide the answer by the number of winning trades you made.

Choose an appropriate trading platform

Choosing an online broker seems like a simple process. But in reality, it can be a nightmare because finding the right broker is not easy. In the very beginning, you want to be sure that the broker has the right credentials, understands the market, has similar wealth-building beliefs as you do. The most important question is about what type of trader you want to be. Are you an active trader or buy-and-hold investor? Whatever you are, it will affect your choice of broker. If you are a buy-and-hold investor and invest in index funds, making a few trades per year, fund selection may be more important to you than low transaction fees. If you like to trade off of Fibonacci numbers, be sure the broker’s platform can draw Fibonacci lines. These are the best tricks of the trade.

Choosing a respected broker is of main importance. Researching the differences between brokers will be very helpful. You must know each broker’s policies.

Have a plan before executing a trade

You don’t need a million bells and whistles to make money, just one simple tactic that works. One of the biggest problems a trader faces is bridging the gap between trade planning and execution. Getting from a strategy looking good on paper to real-world trading performance is what it’s really all about. Without question, all the planning in the world will not do you any good if you can’t execute and reap the benefits of your work. Wins and losses come in a random distribution. It is not unreasonable to sit through a series of losing trades even if you did everything according to plan. One issue to consider is that people aren’t particularly confident in what they’re doing and this can be rectified with a little guidance.

Understanding what it is that you are trying to achieve and what constitutes reasonable results can go a long way towards settling nerves and allowing a trader to execute how they have planned to do so. Clarity of mind and consistency of approach will help you to start to realize the potential of your strategy.

OK, there is one trick of the trade: “one punch, one kick.”

The idea is to accomplish the job as quickly as possible with very minimal effort. Find your edge in the market, a technique that works and sticks to your plan. If you don’t have a strategy then you shouldn’t be on the battlefield. Traders who execute random orders without a plan usually lose their money. Who needs a flying roundhouse kick, when a straight stomp to the knee will incapacitate your opponent with one simple move.

Trade quality over quantity

One general mistake is the need to always be in a trade. Some traders get whiplash by chasing the market during choppy conditions. Advanced traders are very picky about when to pull the trigger.

Most of the time the markets produce a 50/50 possibility for success. You want to be patient and wait for trades that have a higher probability than a coin toss. The trick of the trade is to find good trade setups not treat the markets as a roulette table.

That said, even quality trades have an element of chance, therefore you always need to have an exit strategy to manage risk.

Traders tend to make money when the markets are inefficient unless you’re running an algorithm that scalps a flat market, stay away from choppy or stable price action. Only trade in market conditions that are conducive to your particular trading strategy.

As we said before, there are no tricks of the trade. Trading is an art. The only way to become skilled is through consistent and disciplined practice. That’s the trick of the trade.

9th November 2018
Fibonacci retracement – Know When to Buy and sell

2 min read

Fibonacci numbers are 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, etc. The sequence occurs by adding the previous two numbers (i.e. 1+1=2, 2+3=5). The main ratio used is .618. This is found by dividing one Fibonacci number into the next in sequence Fibonacci number (55/89=0.618).

The logic by Fibonacci based traders is that Fibonacci numbers occur in nature. And the stock, futures, and currency markets are creations of nature – humans. Therefore, traders can apply the Fibonacci sequence to the financial markets.

There are many Fibonacci tools such as Fibonacci Retracements used by traders.

In finance, Fibonacci retracement is a method of technical analysis for determining support and resistance levels. They are named after their use of the Fibonacci sequence. Fibonacci retracement is based on the idea that markets will retrace a predictable portion of a move. After which they will continue to move in the original direction.

Use Fibonacci Retracements to Enter a Trade

First of all, no indicator should be used in isolation. But by combining it with trend analysis it helps highlight logical areas for entering trades.

Fibonacci Retracements are considered a predictive technical indicator as they attempt to identify a future exchange rate. The theory is that after a rate spike in either direction, the rate will often return or retrace. Part way back to the previous price level. Before resuming in the original direction.

When the price of an asset pulls back, it typically has a mathematical relationship to the price wave that preceded it.

Moves lower off a recent high, or moves higher off a recent low.

This relationship is based on the “Golden Ratio” and a series of “Fibonacci Numbers” that help define the numerical relationship of one thing to another.

Interpreting Fibonacci Retracements

Given their popularity and widespread usage by technical analysts, it is good to know how to interpret Fibonacci retracements. However, as with any indicator, it is wise to seek confirmation from additional sources. Just to bolster Fibonacci analysis before basing a large trade.

Once an impulse wave has occurred, the price will quite often move to and stall at one of the Fibonacci Retracement levels. If the price falls through one level it will likely proceed to the next level. Sometimes, a price may stall at one level, then proceed to the next, stall and proceed to the next and so on.

During such periods it is important to have some guidelines. To know on which levels are likely to be most important in certain market conditions. This will require a lot of practice reading price action.

When there are strong trends, what to do?

In a very strong trend, you should expect shallow pullbacks, to 23.6, 38.2 and sometimes 50. In regular trends, or during the middle of a trend expect a pullback to the 50 or 61.8 levels. Early in the trend, late in the trend or during weak trends expect retracements/pullbacks to reach the 61.8 or 78.6 levels.

We can’t know in advance which Fibonacci level will reverse the pullback. Since there are multiple levels, which one it stops can be random. This is why we need some other tools to help make trading decisions. If we opt to use retracement levels.

When it comes to using Fibonacci Retracements as a technical indicator, trader discretion is advised.

The Fibonacci tool works best when the forex market is trending.

Fibonacci retracements provide some areas of interest to watch on pullbacks. They can act as a confirmation if you get a trade signal in the area of a Fibonacci level.

The idea is to go long (or buy) on a retracement at a Fibonacci support level when the market is trending up. And to go short (or sell) on a retracement at a Fibonacci resistance level when the market is trending down.

Fibonacci Retracements are ratios used to identify potential reversal levels. These ratios are found in the Fibonacci sequence.

The most popular Fibonacci Retracements are 61.8% and 38.2%. Note that 38.2% is often rounded to 38% and 61.8 is rounded to 62%. After an advance, chartists apply Fibonacci ratios to define retracement levels and forecast the extent of a correction or pullback. Fibonacci Retracements can also be applied after a decline to forecast the length of a counter-trend bounce.

These retracements can be combined with other indicators and price patterns to create an overall strategy.

Unlike moving averages, Fibonacci retracement levels are static prices. They do not change. This allows for quick and simple identification. And allows traders and investors to react when price levels are tested.

Because these levels are inflection points, traders expect some type of price action, either a break or a rejection. The 0.618 Fibonacci retracement, that stock analysts like to use, approximates to the “golden ratio”.

Basic Fibonacci Retracement Strategy

Fibonacci Retracements are a guide; don’t expect the price to stop exactly at a certain level. For example, the price slightly overshoots at the 61.8 level. It is typical for the price to stall just above or below a Fibonacci level.

Buy when the price pulls back and stalls near one of the Fibonacci retracement levels. And then begins to move back to the upside. Place a stop loss below the price low that was just created. Or below the lower Fibonacci retracement level to give more room. In perfect position, the retracement level you buy at is one that the asset has a tendency to reverse it.

Look for some sort of trade trigger to occur near the Fibonacci level. For example, the price is up and the price has pulled to near a key Fibonacci level. You should wait for the price to consolidate. And then break out of that consolidation to the upside. This adds a second layer of confirmation. Also, you can watch patterns to trigger a trade.

Without this trigger itis hard to trade Fibo levels on your own.

How to apply

In a downtrend, sell when the price pulls up and stalls near one of the Fibonacci retracement levels. And then it begins to move back to the downside. Place a stop loss just above the price high that was just created. Or above the higher Fibonacci retracement level to give a bit more room.

Again, add in a trade trigger or some other element of confirmation.

Looking at how strong the trend is can help determine which Fibonacci levels are most likely to stall and hopefully reverse the pullback.

The bottom line

You can apply Fibo to any time frame, including ticks charts, 1-minute charts or weekly charts. Also, you can use retracement levels on any liquid market. And can be applied to individual price waves or multiple price waves.

You might also like:

>>> Best Trading Strategy Without Indicators In Forex

>>> How to Use Technical Indicators to Analyze Stocks?

>>> MACD Indicator – Moving Average Convergence Divergence

>>> Indicator Trading And How To Use It

>>> P/E Ratio An Quick Method to Value a Stock

2nd November 2018
What is Blockchain or Blockchain Technology?
2 min read
- The blockchain is the mathematical structure for storing data in a way that is nearly impossible to fake.
- Blockchain technology is an important element of cryptocurrencies. Without it, digital currencies like Bitcoin would not exist.
If you are new to blockchain technology or you are already a trader, this article is for you. So, what is the blockchain? The blockchain is an absolutely brilliant invention. The idea of a person or group of people known by the pseudonym, Satoshi Nakamoto. By the time, it has developed into something greater, but still, there is a question: What is Blockchain?

Every day you can hear about Blockchain technology, Bitcoin, ICO, Ethereum. But do you understand what blockchain is?

How does it work? Can blockchain be used in business? Will blockchain change the world? This article is aimed to answer all these questions.

What blockchain is, the best explanation is through the game.

Imagine you and your friends are on a vacation. Its night, you are sitting around the pit-fire and playing storytelling. One has begun the story with a sentence, you are repeating the sentence and adding up your part, then the other player, etc. The main goal is the chain of sentences which are producing a story. If someone is not able to repeat and add his own sentence, the chain will fall down, it would end. New sentences are nothing without the initiation of old sentences. That exactly what the blockchain is. You added a sentence on your friend sentence, that was a ‘block’. Everyone approved your phrase because it referred to the old sentences, that is a shared ledger.

From the beginning

Common people started mistrusting the banks. There lies the birth of blockchain. A mysterious person named Satoshi Nakamoto created a whole new currency. He built the whole system on the principle of decentralization. He created a public ledger, which is synchronizing continuously and everyone is able to witness the process.

“I’ve been working on a new electronic cash system that’s fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party.”

These are the words of Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, in a message sent to a cryptography-focused mailing list in October 2008. Included was a link to a nine-page white paper describing a technology that some are now convinced will disrupt the financial system.

Transform this into real life.

Let me ask you something. What happens when you send money from your bank account to someone else’s bank account? Your bank acts as a middleman, it verifies and approves the details of sender and receiver through its ledger (a book or other collection of financial accounts. In this case, you must trust your bank to have such transaction. Imagine, when banks are collapsing, will you send your money through banks? Will you be able to trust the middleman?

How does Blockchain work?

Suppose, you want to transfer some money to your friend in the other country. You will initiate a transaction, each online transaction will be a reference to ‘Block’. Because it is a public ledger, there will be broadcast to everyone in the network about the block. Constant synchronization of the ledger will be going on. If the people in the network would approve the transaction, then the ‘block’ would be added to the ‘chain’ which is a transparent record of transactions. Hence the name ‘blockchain’. This is how the money would be transferred. Satoshi Nakamoto carefully designed it to prevent the double spending of money.

What does it mean?

This problem exclusively belongs to digital currency. We can copy songs and movies from our laptops and paste them in other devices. That file will carry information. And can be copied and reproduced regarding our digital transaction. This will generate new fake currency, which is not part of our original monetary system. We can call it double spending of money.

Satoshi Nakamoto handled this problem extremely well. He introduced public ledger and an immutable chain of blocks. Every transaction is bundled into a block, every block is processed, authenticated, time-stamped and linked to the previous block.

This creates an immutable chain

When you want to send some money from your bank account, your bank will verify and confirm the transaction. Problem is that you have only one confirmation in the banking system. But, in the blockchain, at least 6 confirmations are required for a block to be added to the chain. Contrary, it is rejected. Can you see how blockchain is more secure and transparent?

Why use blockchain?

Transparency is one of the reasons why should use this technology. It is about its open source structure. It means that other users of the network can read and confirm or not confirm the information. The essential thing of being open source is that it can’t save logged data without majority blockchain network users.

Decentralization is other. Next main blockchain reason is the lack of a central data hub. Instead of running a massive data center you save your information in decentralized net, where any user can read, check and authorize any of your actions.

User controlled networks are also advantaged, a consequence of the decentralization of the network. Instead of holding a third party for data processing, stakeholders decided to control each other and decide what to do next. For instance, the inability to achieve 80% consensus on the update, tied to the bitcoin block, lies in the fact that it was necessary to develop a plug into two separate currencies, bitcoin, and bitcoin cash.

Faster transaction settlements is another advantage. Blockchain technology works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That means the blockchain based transaction process is faster.

When you send the transaction to traditional banks, it will take days to be completely settled. This is due to protocols in bank transferring software, and working time. You also have financial institutions located in various time zones, which delays processing times, but it’s not about blockchain.

Reduced transaction costs are characteristic. Blockchain allows you to execute transactions without a third party, which is often a bank or a central server. Since the intermediary is absent, this allows you to get rid of imposing expense items.

Where to use the blockchain

There are a lot of uses of blockchain technology. Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies is just one application of blockchain. We have Ethereum, which is a platform where different applications can be built, it is more like an Operating System. And other altcoins too, are based on the blockchain. And many other fields. The blockchain is not only about cryptocurrencies.

In healthcare, the use of digital signatures based on blockchain data allows access only with the permission of several people and full compliance with keys, also allows to regulate the availability and maintain the confidentiality of medical records.

As a protection, the blockchain technology is creating an impregnable network with the impossibility to get access from the outside. The blockchain technology can improve transparency, speed up work and check corruption in governments all around the world. Probably one of the most popular uses of blockchain technology in the modern world is energy. In order to maximize the rational use of the generated energy, blockchain technology provides to see how much energy we use, at what hours, etc. There are lots of opportunities with blockchain technology and its immeasurable potential for improving the quality of service provision improving the confidentiality and integrity of data at the same time.

Bottom line:

So, what is blockchain? Maybe the best answer is this quotation: ‘The blockchain is an incorruptible digital ledger of economic transactions that can be programmed to record not just financial transactions but virtually everything of value.’ said Don & Alex Tapscott, authors Blockchain Revolution (2016).

The blockchain technology is extremely powerful and can disrupt many existing organizations. No matter what happens with Bitcoin, Blockchain technology is here to stay, in a more refined and sophisticated manner.

Risk Disclosure (read carefully!)
23rd October 2018
Who are the most successful investors in India?

2 min read

All those who enter the stock market in India has the same dreams. They all want to become absurdly wealthy like few of the known richest investors in the world. These guys made a success! It is never easy to make money by investing or trading in stock markets. The stock markets are highly volatile and your investments can be at high risks. Many people have lost all their savings in this market. Yes, the rules are the same for all, but the story is not the same for all. Many have gathered good wealth. In India too. We found some beautiful stories about successful investors in Indian stock market.

We want to introduce some of the most successful investors in India. How was their journey, what principles they follow, how long they have been investing? Who knows, maybe these examples could be an inspiration to all of us. For you too!

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala – Stock market investor

He is one of the most successful investors in India. His portfolio is worth over Rs. 20,000 crores / 3.2 billion dollars. His top holding is CRILIS but he holds stocks of Titan and Lupin too. He is known as Indian Warren Buffet.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala entered the Indian market in 1985. His father was interested in the stock market and boy-Rakesh was very carefully listener during the long conversations among his father and his friends. He attended the Chartered Accountancy course to gain a professional degree and completed in 1985.

After that, he joined the Stock Market and started trading. His first biggest bet was 5000 shares of Tata Tea which he got for Rs 43 and sold for Rs143 in just 3 months. This gave him Rs. 5 Lakh which was a big deal at that time. His next big hit was Sesa Goa. He bought 4 lakh shares and gathered huge profits on it. After that first successes, a lot of stocks made large sums of money for him like Lupin, Crisil, etc.

Porinju Veliyath – CEO of Equity Intelligence

He is one of the most well-known investors and fund manager. Equity Intelligence stock picks like Emkay Global Financial Services and BCL Industries has raised by 200% in their share prices and IZMO and Vista Pharma raised by 100% at their share prices under his hand. But it wasn’t so easy in the beginning.

The story of his life isn’t exactly ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ but he had a lot of struggles in his early days. Porinju Veliyath was born in the lower-middle-class family in Kochi. During his student days, he had to work many different and hard jobs to support his family.

When he moved to Mumbai in 1990 in search of a job, he became a floor trader at Kotak Securities there. He was clever, learned quickly and he became an expert trader. He worked for 4 years there and got a lot of knowledge. In 1994, he joined Parag Parikh Securities as a Research Analyst and fund manager. In 1999, he returned to his hometown Kochi and decided to make money on his own from the stock market. He made his first major investment in ‘Geojit Financial Services’. The stock was trading at a very low value at that time. Proving everybody wrong, this investment gave him multiple returns. In 2002, he started his own portfolio management service firm in the name of ‘Equity Intelligence’.

Vijay Kedia – a successful investor with the origin

He describes success on the stock market: ‘knowledge to find out quality stocks which one can acquire only by reading. If one doesn’t have reading habits, he can’t be a good investor.’

Vijay Kedia was born in the family of stock-brokers. He started his career in the stock market in 1978 not by his own choice but by force after his father died.

He joined the family business of trading and stock-broking. At the start, he was not doing well. But, he did not lose hope. He realized that trading didn’t suit him well and decided to start with investing. But learned a lot about the fundamentals of companies. In the beginning, he owned Rs 35,000 and by his own study, he invested the entire amount in a stock named Punjab Tractor. In 3 years, the stock multiplied 6 times and his Rs 35,000 grew into Rs. 2.1 Lakhs. Then, he invested in ACC at the rate of Rs. 300. After a year, the stock multiplied 10 times and moved to Rs. 3,000 in the second year. He continued to make successful investments in various stocks to create a wealth of 500 crores.

Vijay Kedia is betting now on Everest Industries and Vaibhav Global as multi-bagger stocks for 2018. And still is one of the most successful investors in India.

Nemish Shah – top 10 retail investor

His net worth is Rs 1,300 crore.

Nemish Shah is the co-founder of ENAM, one of the most reputed and respectable investment houses. He keeps himself away from media and publicity. His investment ideas are most sought after. He invested in Asahi India and multiplied his funds to 3.4 times in 3 years. He does not invest in too many stocks. His focus is on limited stocks and highly sector-driven.

Ramesh Damani – well-known investor

Ramesh Dhamani is well-known as Warren Buffet follower as much as because of his investments in listed and unlisted companies. He is picking high-quality stocks and retaining them for a long time. He follows the model for investing that favors companies with strong management credentials and processes. And it is Warren Buffet’s model. That affords him millions of rupee. Also, one of the most successful investors in India.

Raamdeo Agrawal – Founder of Motilal Oswal Group

Raamdeo Agrawal is one of the founder members of Motilal Oswal Group and MD and co-founder of Motilal Oswal Financial Services. He started buying stocks in 1980 and till 1994; he made a portfolio of about Rs. 10 crores. Then, he read Warren Buffet’s tips and worked upon his portfolio to pick quality stocks instead of accumulating bad sticks. In a span of one year time, his portfolio doubled. He has amassed a net worth of over Rs. 6,500 Crore /1 Bn dollars.

Dolly Khanna – the Value investor

Women in the top 7 the most successful investors in India. Value investor Dolly Khanna has been investing in the Indian stock market since 1996. Her portfolio is managed by her husband Rajiv Khanna. She made debut through the fertilizer sector by homing in on a top-quality small-cap stock which enjoys a monopoly position. She has a knack of spotting multi-bagger stocks and knows exactly when to book profits. Emkay Global Financials, PPAP Automotives, IFB Industries, Thirumalai Chemicals are some of the picks form her portfolio.

Bottom line:

If you want to become successful in the stock market, then you should learn from the lives of these iconic stock market investors. How was their journey, what principles they follow, how long they have been investing?

Everyone who enters the stock market world knows about Warren Buffet. The greatest investor of all time and one of the richest person in this world who made his fortune by investing in stocks. But you have to know these guys and their life path.

Both you and they deserve this to know.

Risk Disclosure (read carefully!)

22nd October 2018
Alternative Investments Role in Diversified Investment
Investors should pay attention to several issues when adding alternatives to their investment strategy.

By Guy Avtalyon

Alternative investments, which have been used by large institutions and foundations for quite some time, have become more mainstream in the last years. They are more popular among individual investors. Also, there are more available products, which makes investing in alternatives possible for an increasing number of investors.

Alternative investments are a non-traditional approach to investing. They give the ability to invest in sectors and access to assets that traditional investments cannot provide. Investors should understand alternative investments as the potential to improve the overall risk-return ratio of your portfolio. Even a small allocation to alternatives may be reasonable and profitable now for more investors. Previously it wasn’t the case.

However, the non-traditional approach and structure of these investments bring with them unique risks of which investors must be aware of.

Alternative investments have a different approach

Alternative investments use a different approach to investing than do traditional equity or fixed-income investments.
This approach may require holding both long and short positions in securities. Also, it may require to hold private securities instead of publicly-traded investments. And there may be derivatives or hedging strategies as well. Also, investors that use alternatives have a goal to achieve a distinct level of total return. The other investors’ goal is the opposite, they usually pay more attention to relative performance versus an index.
Alternative investments have the potential to magnify the risk but also returns of an investment portfolio. They can possibly improve diversification and reduce risk. This approach is more flexible, investors have a chance to invest in a more extensive set of investments, so the possibility of enhancing returns is obvious.

Different risk

Alternative investments have risks different from traditional investments. They are less liquid, especially in periods of high pressure in the markets. Also, they are more complex and less transparent. These characteristics make it difficult for inexperienced investors to understand and they are more subject to investment manager failure.

The successful implementation of an alternative investment strategy relies largely on the investment manager’s experience and skill because of the wide range of investment opportunities.

Satellite asset classes as Alternative Investments

Satelite asset classes are very suitable for portfolio diversification. They cover everything that traditional investors and funds managers don’t even think about. They are more interested and specialized in asset classes such as real estate, commodities, any that can give high-yield fixed income. Satellites are non-traditional and have a low correlation with traditional assets. But their performances are driven by exposure which represents the similarity with traditional investments.

Types of Alternative Investments

We highlight several types of alternative investments but this list is more illustrative than exhaustive because new approaches are constantly being developed.

Private equity

Private equity is an investment strategy. Its goal is to take part in the growth of the private company. Hence, this strategy is long-term investments all in private securities generally and globally.
Private equity investment strategy covers illiquid asset classes with potentially greater long-term capital appreciation. The diversification doesn’t include public markets.
Only to higher-net-worth individuals use this strategy because it requires more investment experience, hence they are often accredited investor at high minimums and often has liquidity restrictions.

Hedge funds

The hedge funds are an alternative investment. They are designed to protect investment portfolios from market changes, so they will generate positive returns no matter if the markets are up or down.
They could protect the investment from market risk by adding alternative investments to the portfolios to decrease loss and protect capital.
The term “absolute return” is broadly used in connection with hedge funds. This explains how investment strategies are created to generate returns in any market condition. Actually, these funds are “hedging” the markets.

Managed Futures

An investment strategy that seeks to participate in trends in a large variety of global futures markets. Strategies include the use of the stock index, interest rate, currency, energy, and commodity futures. Many managed futures traders apply sophisticated software designed to invest in a disciplined, unemotional fashion, which often results in a lower correlation with traditional assets.

Alternative investments – mutual funds

These funds are not forced by traditional portfolio management systems. They have varying approaches, ranging from the absolute return, long/short equity, a broad mandate, or “go-anywhere” funds, and hedge fund-like strategies. Many of these funds also have a total return or an absolute return objective. They provide access to non-traditional investment. But they also provide investors daily liquidity at fair investment minimum.
Alternative investments can be useful tools to improve the risk-return of an investment portfolio. They can increase diversification and reduce volatility, given low correlations to more traditional investments.

Risks of Alternative Investments
- Higher fees. – Alternative investments can have higher fees. They may also charge additional management fees. While higher than traditional investments, these fees may or may not be excused when comparing returns net of fees.
- More complicated. – Alternative managers invest in a broad variety of investments, such as derivatives, and can use short selling. Understanding that can be difficult for many investors.
- Less transparent. – There can be limited to the underlying holdings of these investments. They use many tools that are not always the best choice for alternative investments. That makes a manager’s investment ability more difficult to assess. Also, some alternative investments are largely unregulated.
- Less liquid. – This is due to holding illiquid investments that can restrict the investor’s ability to offset money invested. For example, some hedge funds do not allow redemptions over the first year of investing. Most of them will allow annual or quarterly redemptions. Moreover, private equity may not allow redemptions for more than seven years. Here is also exposure to a notable lack of liquidity in some trading environments.
- Less tax-friendly. – Most alternative investment strategies aren’t focused on minimizing taxes.
- May disappoint in strong up markets. – They use short sellings to generate absolute returns. That may deter some investors.
- May not diversify risk in extreme down markets. – During the dislocation, the relationships of many different types of investments may increase notably. Investors hold that the more profits of alternatives is connected to the added risk.
Is this suitable for every investor?

Alternative investments can potentially magnify the overall risk-return of an investment portfolio. There are benefits but also risks in these non-traditional investment strategies. The most important is that investors have to be comfortable with alternatives when adding them to their investment strategy.
It is important also to discuss alternative investments with a respectable financial advisor. If you choose this strategy you’ll first need to determine how suitable it is in relation to your current investment approach.
5th October 2018
What is Diversified Investment
2 min read

Nothing more represents the term diversified investment than proverb “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Instead, invest in many baskets and hold a substantially diversified portfolio based on your long-term asset allocation strategy.

A diversified investment is exactly that.

A diversified investment represents a portfolio of various assets that earn the highest return for the smallest risk. This kind of portfolio has a mixture of stocks, fixed income, and commodities. These assets react differently to the same economic occasions and because of that, diversification works. With diversified funds, you can access financial markets while spreading your investments across several asset classes and geographic regions. In this way, you reduce the impact of market fluctuations while maintaining an attractive potential performance.

In a diversified portfolio, the assets don’t match each other. When one rises, the other falls. It drops down overall risk because some asset classes will benefit, no matter what the economy does. They equalize any losses of the other assets. There is also less risk because it’s difficult the entire portfolio would be destroyed by any single event. A diversified portfolio is the best protection against a financial crisis.

How does Diversification work?

Stocks do well when the economy grows. Investors want the highest returns, so they bid up to the price of stocks. They are willing to accept a greater risk because they are optimistic about the future.

Bonds do well when the economy slows.

Investors are more interested in protecting their holdings. They are willing to accept lower returns for that reduction of risk.

The prices of commodities vary with supply and demand. Commodities include wheat, oil, and gold. For example, wheat prices would rise if there is a drought that limits supply. Oil prices would fall if there is additional supply. As a result, commodities don’t follow the phases of the business cycle as closely as stocks and bonds.

Diversification typically has low correlations to, or do not move in lockstep with, more traditional asset classes. As such, their inclusion in an investment portfolio tends to result in lower overall volatility. Because they have a wider universe in which to invest (public and private) and do not have some of the same investment constraints (can short and hedge), alternative investments have the potential for higher long-term performance than traditional investments.

Investing in diversified funds can, therefore, be an effective tool to:
- Seek growth in your savings with a medium-term outlook and moderate risk
- Benefit from exposure to several markets (equity, bonds) that is adjusted to match current conditions in order to both take advantage of market rallies and cushion against the impact of declines
- Manage your portfolio simply with access to turnkey management: the manager adjusts the make-up of your portfolio over time.
Where can you execute the diversified portfolio?

A diversified portfolio should contain securities from the following six asset classes.

Stocks. Different sized companies should be included. Company size is measured by its market capitalization. Therefore, include small-cap, mid-cap, and large-cap in any portfolio.

Fixed income. The safest are savings bonds. These are guaranteed by the government. Municipal bonds are also very safe. You can also buy short-term bond funds and money market funds that invest in these safe securities. Corporate bonds provide a higher return with greater risk. The highest returns and risk come with junk bonds.

Foreign stocks. These include companies from both developed and emerging markets. You can achieve greater diversification if you invest overseas. International investments can generate a higher return because emerging markets countries are growing faster. But they are riskier investments because these countries have fewer central bank safeguards in place, can be susceptible to political changes, and are less transparent.

Foreign fixed income. These include both corporate and government issues. They provide protection from a currency decline. They are safer than foreign stocks.

Commodities. This includes natural resources such as gold, oil, and real estate. Gold should be a part of any diversified investment because it’s the best hedge against a stock market crash. Research shows that gold prices rise dramatically for 15 days after the crash. This is why people invest in gold. Gold can be a good defense against inflation. It is also not correlated to assets such as stocks and bonds.

Maybe you should include the equity in your home in your diversification strategy.

If your equity goes up, you can sell other real estate investments in your portfolio. You might also consider to sell your home, take some profits, and move into a smaller house.

Most investment advisors don’t count the equity in your home as a real estate investment. They assume you will live there to the end of the time. They saw it as a consumable product, so that encouraged many homeowners to loan against the equity in their homes to buy consumable goods. When housing prices declined, they owed more than the house was worth. Many people walked away from their homes while others declared bankruptcy.

Expected return

Investors often focus too much on the expected return of their portfolio. While the expected return is important, you must also consider the amount of risk that you need to assume in order to achieve that expected return – the higher the expected return, the more risk you must take on to achieve it. When planning your investment strategy, it is important to be truthful with yourself in evaluating how much risk you can manage, and how long you are able to stay on the course through the ups and downs of the market rhythm. With other words, you should determine how much short-term volatility you are willing to accept.

A little bit of history.

An academic named Harry Markowitz introduced the research on what he called modern portfolio theory that people were able to understand diversification in an objective, mathematical sense. This research was so innovative and Markowitz earned a trip to Sweden to pick up a Nobel Prize.

The bottom line

In Shakespeare’s play, “The Merchant of Venice,” written more than 400 years ago, the character Antonio demonstrates his understanding of the concept. He says: “I thank my fortune for it – my ventures are not in one bottom trusted, nor to one place, nor is my whole estate upon the fortune of this present year.” That is a diversified investment.

Risk Disclosure (read carefully!)
3rd October 2018
How To Choose An Asset To Invest In
You don’t need to be an excellent asset picker to build your wealth. Just avoid get-rich-quickly schemes.

By Guy Avtalyon

How to choose an asset? Don’t pick only one, or form the same asset class, mix them.

The main asset classes are:
1. a) Shares/stocks (also known as equities).
2. b) Bonds (also known as fixed-interest stocks or debt).
3. c) Property.
4. d) Commodities.
5. e) Cash and cash equivalents.
What are the best assets to invest in?

(the return criteria is based off trying to generate $10,000 a year in passive income)
1) Certificates of Deposit (CDs).
2) Fixed Income / Bonds.
3) Physical Real Estate.
4) Peer-to-Peer Lending (P2P)
5) Dividend Investing.
6) Private Equity Investing.
7) Creating Your Own Products.
8) Real Estate Crowdsourcing.

Decide which asset to invest among these

Let’s say like this, investing is about laying out money today expecting to get more money back in the future. This is best achieved by acquiring productive assets. Productive assets are investments that internally throw off surplus money from some sort of activity. To be clear, if you buy a painting, it isn’t a productive asset. After 200 years you’ll still own the painting, which may or may not be worth more or less money. But, if you buy an apartment building you’ll not only have the building but all of the cash it produced from rent over that century.

How to choose an asset suitable for you?

First of all, never invest all your money into one asset. You should mix them. The right asset mix should help balance risk with your expected rate of return on your investments, fit your tolerance for risk, let you get your money when you need it, help provide the growth you need to reach your goals, and change as your needs and goals change over time. When you know all of these you’ll know how to choose an asset to invest in.
- Shares (also known as equities) – Shares are bought through a stockbroker. The easiest way to buy or sell shares is through an online broker. Some execution-only is maybe the best choice. Execution-only indicates the broker will take your order and execute it without giving you any advice. Many execution-only brokers provide lots of information and research about shares but this does not include advice. So, if you want to use some service like this one you’ll have to take full responsibility for your investment. If you do need advice you’ll have to find a stockbroker offering either an advisory or discretionary service. With a discretionary service, you authorize the broker to buy and sell shares on your behalf, but you’ll have to pre-arrange the limits. If you choose an advisory service, the broker will need your permission before taking any action regarding your trade.
- Bonds (also known as fixed-interest stocks). These represent a form of IOU issued by governments and companies when they want to borrow money from investors. They pay a fixed level of interest, with higher-risk borrowers paying more in interest than lower-risk borrowers.
- Property. The property has a good record in providing a financial return that beats inflation, no matter residential or commercial it is. As an investor, you can buy shares in property development or real estate investment companies. Also, you can buy real ‘bricks and mortar’. Funds generally focus on commercial property, but some buy into the residential property as well.
- Commodities. You can find a huge variety of commodities traded on global markets: oil and gas; precious metals such as gold and silver; industrial metals such as copper and iron; and ‘soft’ agricultural commodities such as wheat, rice, and soya. It is almost the same as shares and bonds. Commodity prices can rise and fall in answer to supply and demand
- Cash. It may be a bit strange that cash is considered to be an asset class because the whole reason for investing in the first place is to grow your money faster than if it was left in the bank. But you must have in your mind that cash provides a useful benchmark for all the investment. Finally, investments that don’t beat cash have failed. Cash also provides a safe shelter for funds when markets are bumpy or overvalued. For example, some funds trade in currencies to increase their returns from cash in periods the interest rates are low.
  Being a skillful asset picker isn’t actually necessary to grow your capital. Many people get in trouble particularly when they think of investing as a way to get rich quickly.
Your path to success as an investor or trader is not likely to hinge on whatever hot stock your friend thinks you should buy ASAP. Your success depends more on how smart a portfolio you put together, as well as how you progressively modify or rebalance it over time. And also, knowing how to choose an asset that will generate you nice returns.

Well, how do you invest intelligently, if slowly? You have to respect some basic principles.

Why do you want to start investing?

The main argument for putting your money in anything is to avoid losing your wealth during inflation. In your checking account, cash will still be there in 40 years, if you don’t touch any of it. But you won’t be able to buy anything.

Other crucial reasons might include growing substantial enough savings for retirement and earn enough cash for buying a home. For those kinds of goals, you might want assets with higher returns and therefore you’ll have to take on higher risk.

Also, the very important question is when should you begin investing?

You might already know, but you need to be investing in old age. If you start investing in your early ages you will have many advantages as an investor. Just to name a two: you have more time for your money to grow and more time for market downturns to correct themselves.

How to choose an asset?

Each type of productive asset has its own characteristics and pros and cons. Here is a quick rundown of some of the potential investments you might make as you start your journey:

Business Equity – If you own equity in a business, you are qualified to a share of the profit or losses caused by a company’s activity. Whether you are acquiring a small business completely or buying shares through the purchase of stock on the stock market. Business equity has historically been the most rewarding asset class for investors. It is wise to observe that a good business is a gift that keeps on giving.

Fixed Income Securities – When you buy fixed-income security, you are really lending money to the bond issuer in exchange for interest income. There are billions of ways you can do it, from buying certificates of deposit and money markets to corporate bonds, tax-free municipal bonds, etc.

Real Estate – This is maybe the oldest and most easily understood asset class that you as investors may think about. There are several ways to make money investing in real estate but it typically comes with developing a property and selling it for a profit or owning something and letting others use it in exchange for rent.

Intangible Property and Rights – When it is done properly you can create things out of the air that goes on to print money for you. Adorable! Intangible property includes everything from trademarks and patents to music royalties and copyrights.

Farmland or Other Commodity-Producing Goods – It often involves real estate. Investments in commodity-producing activities are fundamentally different in that you are either producing or extracting something from the ground or nature for what you hope is a profit. For instance, if oil is discovered on your land, you can extract it and earn money from the sales. If you grow wheat, you can sell it and earn cash under any weather. But the risks are remarkable: hail, flood, drought can and have caused folks to go bankrupt by investing in this asset class. But also it can make big rewards.

That is exactly how to choose an asset to invest in.
26th September 2018
What is Growth Investing and How To Pick a Stock?
Here is how to recognize the best growth investment stocks and how to execute this investment strategy

By Guy Avtalyon

Growth investing is an investment strategy which investors use to find stocks with higher earnings growth prospects. It doesn’t matter how high their prices are. These stocks usually have low dividend yields. Also, they have higher volatility and limited downside protection. Moreover, they are highly sensitive to changes in interest rates. The companies with stocks that trade at high valuation levels usually have a high P/E ratio, high P/B, and P/S ratio.

Growth investing is focused on capital appreciation. Growth investors invest only in companies that have above-median growth. Even if the stock price looks expensive and metrics like price-to-earnings or price-to-book ratios, confirm that. The growth investing strategy is in contrast with value investing.

This investing strategy’s focus is on a company that has a track record of high or rising growth. For example, a company has a stock price that has rise year after year over 3 or 4 years. Such stock is a target of growth investors. But the timeline shouldn’t be so long. Even if a stock rise at price every week for 3 weeks in a row growth investors will be interested in that stock.

Growth investing doesn’t consider direct research or fundamentals only. Very often it may be a response to the market sentiment.

For example, if you drive BMW and your friends also drive a BMW car. And say, the stock has gone up every month for the last six months. Then you know that the overall market sentiment is good. And the sentiment of the consumers is also a good and valuable metric for growth investors.

So, you would buy BMW stock if you support the growth investing viewpoint.

Who are growth investors?

Some famous investors such as Warren Buffett have stated that there is no theoretical difference between the concepts of value and growth (“Growth and Value Investing are joined at the hip”).

That’s because the growth is always a component in the calculation of value. It is constituting a variable whose importance can range from a little too vast. And whose impact can be both negative as well as positive?

Buffet’s opinion in one sentence is: “It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price”.

But the real father of growth investing is Thomas Rowe Price, Jr. who worked and promoted growth investing through his company T. Rowe Price. He founded this company in 1937 and today is a publicly-traded multinational investment firm.

How to execute a growth investment strategy?

The following businesses are suitable for growth investing:
- Emerging markets
- Recovery shares
- Blue chips
- Internet and technology stock
- Smaller companies
- Special Situations
What is the main issue with growth investing? It is the fear you are buying at the top of the growth curve. One way to avoid this is to look for long-term growth patterns.

Don’t look at growth surges that last one week, or one month or several months. If you really found a solid company, it should have a history of solid growth. And be able to demonstrate an upward trend in their share price over many years.

But, Most investors do not relly on growth investing alone. They look at other indicators that can support a pattern for future growth. Let’s take the BMW as an example again.

If they are bringing out new lines of the car, expanding to different countries then it is clear that BMW is targeting growth as a strategy for the company. So, you may own a good stock if you are using a growth investing strategy.
This strategy is most effective in the long run. It isn’t suitable for short-term investors for obvious reasons. Growth companies need time to grow.
Every investor should ask this question: Why is growth investing?
The possible answer could be because you want a long-term financial stability and wealth accumulation. And you’ll be right.

How to identify stocks for growth investing?

Growth investment involves picking essentially strong stocks. These stocks have a promising future compared to other stocks in their sector and will have an edge in terms of returns in the long-term. While choosing stock for growth investing, it is important to ensure some essential factors such as the revenue model, cash inflow, growth prospects with respect to the economy, the company’s executive board, market, competition, etc. Researching would let you know if a stock suits the growth investing strategy or not. It is easy to get an insight when you study the company’s balance sheets and reading up more about its history, endeavors, and goals from its website or some other sources. Before taking the final call on your growth investment, it is very important to ensure whether the asset fits the criteria of optimal returns.

Here are a few parameters that could be helpful in analyzing whether a stock is a growth stock or not:

Return on Equity: This means the profit-making potential of the company. It is calculated by dividing the net income of the company with the total equity of the shareholders.

Increase in Earning per Share (EPS): An increased EPS ensures better growth prospects. Hence, it is very important for you to analyze if the EPS is increasing or not over the observed time.

Projected Earnings: It gives an insight into the company’s expected growth and can act as a good indicator of growth investment.

What are the picks for growth investing?

Small-Cap Stocks: Companies that lie in the suit of small-cap are those that are in their initial growth stages. This makes them more promising in growth prospects, the affordability of the stocks is higher. This enables you to buy a bigger lot of their shares and make a decent investment.

Technology and Healthcare Stocks: These companies could be a good pick for growth investing. They are a kind of revolutionary innovations, which increases the scope of their growth prospects. The fact they are exceptionally well in the market because they target a wider audience, thus resulting in exponential growth. They stand by the characteristics of growth in the investment.

Speculative Investments: Even speculative stocks could bring in a fortune in terms of growth investing as they come at a higher risk. If you are choosing a speculative investment, make sure to practice caution and invest only your surplus funds with due diligence.

The great influence in shaping this investment style had Phil Fisher, whose 1958 book “Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits” is still today a reference for identifying growth companies and we highly recommend this book.
24th September 2018
Value Investing Is Profitable Investing Strategy

Value investing is profitable and could generate huge returns if done well.

By Guy Avtalyon

Value investing is an investment strategy where stocks selected that trade for less than their intrinsic values. But that explanation packs a lot of nuance in a few words.

Value investors usually seek stocks they believe the market has undervalued. Investors believe the market overreacts to good and bad news. And that stock price movements do not match with a company’s long-term fundamentals. That gives to investors an opportunity to profit when the price is deflated.

With these types of investments, you don’t make fast money, but if the investment is right it will eventually blow up and early investors may get their reward.

When this style arose?

In the early 1930s, Ben Graham at Columbia University developed this style of investing. He is the author of “The Intelligent Investor” from 1947.
Graham thought it is difficult for the average investor to beat the market. So he developed the concept of intrinsic value.
But he never fully defined it. Later, he admitted that the value was ultimately determined by the investor’s beliefs.

What is value investing?

This strategy involves the three-step process. But most people believe the process has only the first step.
So, let’s see.

The very First step. – Screen stocks based on price-to-earnings (P/E), price-to-book (P/B), or other valuation-related metrics. In order to identify possibly undervalued stocks.
The second step. – You have to evaluate the low P/E or P/B stocks to determine their intrinsic value.
And the third step. – Make an investment decision. Buy only if the stock price is below the intrinsic value by a predetermined margin of safety (normally around 30%).

Value investors are very careful of valuation risk.

They are bottom-up stock pickers, with a long-term perspective. Value investing is all about concentrating a portfolio on a few, selected, undervalued stocks. Diversification does not matter much. The margin of safety helps identify a stock as truly undervalued. But also, protects the downside and controls for risk.

What is important for value investing?

Before deciding if this investing strategy suitable for you not, you have to find the answers to several questions. They are very important when estimating is some stock suitable as value investing.

What does the underlying business do?
What type of return are you looking for?
Does it have competitive advantages and which?
How much money can it generate over the next several years?
Which the underlying business is actually worth?
What’s the current price of the business relative to your aspired return on investment?
How likely are you to be wrong evaluating the business?

That seems like a lot of questions. But they’re fundamentally liable like the other investment strategies are not. It isn’t necessary to predict what other investors are doing or thinking in the short term.

For value investors, it is important to realize the stock is currently underpriced. Some people believe the stock market is financial mumbo-jumbo, where success is a kind of lottery. People very often ask this one single question: “Isn’t the average investor set to fail?”

I believe the contrary, I believe that you can succeed.

Value investing has to find great and successful businesses, the ones that bring a chance to purchasers. So they can make fair profits. They earn solid incomes. These are companies anyone would want to own because they produce real money for their owners. When some investor buys shares of these companies, she or he owns a small part of their business. Value investors buy shares in companies that have demonstrated that they can and will continue to succeed.

What is the value investing strategies?

The most popular value-investing method is the discounted cash flow analysis.
That’s how investors try to determine a company’s financial future. The next step is to discount the future cash flows based on a preferred discount rate. The rate is determined by the weighted average cost of capital or short WACC. Also, the weighted average between the cost of equity and the cost of debt is one of the measures.

There are comparable versions of this analysis that tries to determine intrinsic value from other cash flow. It is the dividend discount model. Its focus is on dividend payouts as one of the reliable cash flows, free cash flow isn’t so important to these analysts.

The point of all these methods is to find the net current value of a stock. In other words, they want to find what the company is worth when all future cash flows are discounted at a determined rate.

Also, there are other methods for finding undervalued stocks, for example, so-called asset play. Investors try to find out companies that have valuable assets, for example, land or intellectual property that isn’t accurately visible on its balance sheet or in its market price. Sometimes assets like patents are considered very valuable.

These value investing strategies have clearly been successful for famous investors. But there are drawbacks to value investing.

Probably the biggest one is that it creates a blind spot for fast-growing startups. That may not yet be profitable but sometimes it turns into blockbuster investments.

Is this strategy right for you?

Value investing can be very profitable and could generate huge returns if done adequately.

Your decision to invest for value may depend most on your investing goals and your time horizon.
Value investing is an intelligent choice for some middle-age investor that looking for wealth safety and low-risk returns
Always keep in your mind, dividends-paying investment, and, at the same time, profitable and high in value will provide you better profits. So, it’s almost impossible to experience great losses.
By finding undervalued stocks with the potential to grow you’ll have better chances to outperform the market.
Value investing is a smart component to include in any diversified portfolio as a mix of value and growth stocks. It can help investors get access to big winners.
Anyway, diversification is one of the best ways to reduce the overall portfolio risk but without losing out on returns.
Also, there is the compound interest. With its power, value stocks will generate income over the long term. Add dividend payments since many of these companies offer regular dividends.
But if you’re a younger investor, growth stocks could be a better pick for your investment portfolio.
But for any investor, choosing undervalued stocks is a proven way to beat the market.

20th September 2018