8 Common Investing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

There is an oft-quoted stock market adage: There are two kinds of investors in the market - those who have money and those who have experience. The ones with the experience get the money. The ones with the money get the experience.

The stock market is a place where history keeps repeating itself. In every bull cycle, hordes of new investors enter the market without a clue about how the market works. They make some money in one or two unknown stocks. Profits are booked quickly and immediately redeployed in the next 'sure thing'.

Once the bear cycle starts and stock prices fall, they buy more to reduce their 'average' cost till the stock collapses in a heap. 'Short-term' players become 'long term' investors in the hope of getting back their invested amounts. Eventually, they sell out at a big loss.

When the next bull cycle starts, a new set of investors enter the market and repeat the mistakes of their predecessors. And so it goes on. Is there a way out of this cycle of mistakes and losses?

In an article in investopedia.com, William Artzberger discusses about 8 common investing mistakes:

1. Investing in something you don't understand
2. Falling in love with a company
3. Lack of patience
4. Too much investment turnover
5. Market timing
6. Waiting to get even
7. Failing to diversify
8. Letting your emotions rule the process

Artzberger also discusses how to avoid these mistakes:

1. Develop a plan of action
2. Put your plan on automatic
3. Have some 'fun' money

Read the complete article at this link.