When people talk about investing, they are always looking for the best advice. Many are willing to pay a lot for it. The problem with this, however, is that many financial advisors give the wrong advice. Ultimately, decisions must be made by the investors. Here are some guidelines that may help investors save a lot of money.
First, a key to successful investing is time itself. What makes many investors rich is that they have invested over a long time. This allows their investments to grow, even if they weren’t active investors. Unfortunately, most people don’t start saving enough until it’s too late. That lack of time limits the power of compounding. So the best advice is to start saving as soon as possible.
What about economic projections and earnings growth estimates? The truth is, nobody knows. What they really reflect are people’s feelings about the future. It’s interesting to note that someone who buys a low-cost index fund on average does better than someone who invests in an expensive fund managed by famous experts. With investing, simple and basic can earn a bigger return than complex and expensive. Sometimes the pros don’t know what they are talking about. They just talk as if they do.
What about risk and volatility? One thing for sure is that the stock market will fluctuate. Since 1900 one of the largest index funds has returned about 6% per year. Compare that to the average difference between any year’s highest close and lowest close which is 23%. When an expert tries to explain why the market is down, they are really trying to explain why the sun goes up and down.
And finally, beware! The financial industry is dominated by people whose only interest in your wealth is how much they can charge you. Unfortunately, the louder a financial expert is, the more exposure he will get even though he’s often wrong. This is one of the most important things to know about finance. Don’t be misled by experts.