By Marcus de Maria, Founder and Chairman of Investment Mastery

When embarking on an investment journey, it is important to first identify your ‘why,’ as this is a great place to go back to if you ever meet any challenges or setbacks.

It is your ‘why’ that is driving you to start learning this new skill – and investing really is a skill, and it has to be learned. Your ‘why’ may be so that you can enjoy a comfortable retirement or be financially free or to put your children through university. Identifying your ‘why’ is so important.

Mindset

Many things hold people back from taking their first steps in their quest to take control of their finances, but when we explore the reasons why it usually comes down to people feeling they are not good enough or they are harbouring huge self-doubt. Many people will hide behind other reasons, such as they don’t have the knowledge or they don’t have the time, but these are usually just excuses, and the real reason is they don’t believe they are worthy.

Knowledge can be gained, and time can be made for anything we want to prioritize. Once we start to understand that these excuses aren’t the real reason for lack of action, and that self-limiting beliefs are the real reason, mindset can start to be changed.

Investing emotionally vs strategically

Once you have your ‘why’ and you have worked on your mindset, the next step is to look at which companies you want to invest your money in. You can either look to invest in companies who you have an affinity with – such as ones that hold the same values, and ethos, or simply because you have an interest in the sector. Others may choose to invest in a company just because it is a good opportunity and not be interested in their values or sector.

Investing in your passions has a benefit. We find that clients who invest in their passions spend more time reading and researching because they enjoy it, their research is more thorough.

The risks, on the other hand, are that clients can become emotionally attached to those companies. Emotional attachment in trading and investing is dangerous because you might get in too early in a company just because you like it and enter at the wrong price. You also run the risk of holding on to them too long after you should have exited, and profits might turn to losses, whereas you can more easily sell the stock of a company you don’t care about. Emotions can kill in trading.

Another risk is that you might be missing out on investing in areas you are not passionate about, but will make you a lot of gains. For example, certain technologies, such as artificial intelligence or cryptocurrencies, are hot right now. But if cryptocurrencies don’t interest you, you would be missing out on tens of thousands of % in potential gains.

The key is to have a strategy with well-defined rules. By all means, focus on where your interests lie, but don’t miss out on areas you are not passionate about, but could make you a lot of money.

Education

By learning how to invest, money can work much harder for you, and you can build up a diverse portfolio that brings you good returns each month. Of course, we would never suggest investing all of your money. Everyone should be sensible and only invest what they are willing to lose. If done wisely, you can see good returns.

In this fast-paced, digitally transforming landscape, education is key to staying ahead of the game. Investing in yourself, by undertaking an education that teaches you how to make your money work harder, well that makes even more sense!

I invest 10% of my earnings in my own learning, as I believe we can never learn enough. With the world changing so quickly, we need to ensure we keep up and get ahead of the curve.

Cryptocurrencies

If you are looking to start learning how to invest, cryptocurrencies are a good place to start as they are easier to get into. They also offer a lucrative opportunity following the recent crypto crash, because the price is low. Our investment strategies all centre on buying when low to create a low average value across your portfolio.

Top Tips for Investing in Crypto

1. If you have no knowledge of cryptocurrencies, a good place to start is the top ten coins, including bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin and Tether.
2. Before you get started, set up a demo account where you can practice the strategies without risking any money. Test the strategies for a month or two to make sure you have perfected them and are happy with the results.
3. Choose a particular day or two each month to invest in crypto, and on this day look at the previous month’s value. If the value has dropped significantly then purchase a predefined amount – say £100. The following month, look at the value against the previous month and if dropped again purchase +25% more than last time. Once the coin starts to rise, you are then in profit.
4. If the value has risen the following month, do not purchase any more of these coins. Try another cryptocurrency and use the same strategies to invest. This will give you an overall portfolio with a low average entry price on everything you purchase, which will maximise profits over time.
5. Crypto is much easier to get into than traditional investments. Just get an account, get a wallet, track your assets. Remember that it’s not controlled by banks or governments, it’s controlled by everybody who invests in it. It is also inflation-proof, so now is a good time to start investing.

About Author:

Renowned stock market and wealth educator, investor, and entrepreneur Marcus de Maria is the founder of Investment Mastery, one of the world’s leading investment and trading education companies.

A sought-after keynote speaker on wealth creation who has shared the stage with some of the world’s leaders in business, success and philanthropy, Marcus has gained mutual respect from many high profiled individuals including Richard Branson, Robert Kiyosaki, Tony Robbins and Brian Tracy.

Marcus is also the author of three books including The Lunchtime Trader, a guide on how to build indestructible wealth by trading stocks for just 20 minutes a day.

After experiencing financial difficulties, Marcus went from being £100,000 in bad debt and sleeping on his brother’s floor to taking control of his financial future and learning strategies to become financially fit, building multiple pillars of wealth for security. He now uses all he has learnt to help others follow this path of wealth creation.

Marcus and Investment Mastery’s greatest adversary is the “Get Rich Quick” mindset – their aim is to educate others on how to create financial independence, security, and ultimately wealth, for themselves and their families. He also aims to teach students about some of the most misunderstood wealth creation vehicles, such as cryptocurrencies and the stock market.

www.investment-mastery.com