If you are contemplating investing money in the stock market, you need to perform adequate research before investing. You will need to create an account with a brokerage firm in order to help you with the purchase and sales of stocks of different companies on the stock market. After this, you will only be left with choosing the stocks you want to invest in. But, with the endless list of stocks available for you to invest in, you might find it hard to know which ones to choose. BankBazaar has more information regarding different stocks.

Is choosing the stock confusing you?

When it comes to choosing a single stock or a number of stocks, it is normal to be confused. The basic question that people encounter is whether to invest in a single top-performing company or a number of companies which show average performance. The short answer to this question is that it is always better to invest in a number of different stocks with a variety of risk profiles in order to minimise the level of risk that comes with investing in just one.

The concept of volatility

Volatility is a concept that needs to be understood when it comes to investing in stocks. A stock can be considered volatile if its price changes very quickly in a very short span of time. Some stocks have been known to rise to triple their price in a single day and drop to half the original price by the next day. Therefore, such volatile stocks are not the best option when it comes to investments. Such major fluctuations in price are usually noted in lower-priced stocks. While higher-priced stocks are not immune to fluctuations in price, in general, they are considered better investments. This is because they tend to hold their prices a more steady manner.

The concept of risk

Risk is another concept that needs to be understood by an investor looking to get into the stock market. Companies that are in trouble financially tend to have a lower stock price. This does not mean that the company’s recovery is out of the question but it would be best to analyse the company’s performance closely before investing in it. Compared to these, companies that have a sound financial position tend to have a higher stock price. These offer lower risk compared to companies that have financial issues.

The concept of affordability

Affordability is the final concept that a stock investor needs to know. A stock that is lower priced is definitely more affordable than a stock that is higher priced. Investments in stock markets should ideally be performed using funds that are disposable. This way, the possibility of a loss will not affect the investor’s daily life. Therefore, affordability does not refer to being able to buy a stock but the ability to buy a stock with non-essential finance. If your disposable income is low, it would be better to invest in mutual funds in order to lower risk.

But is price the only deciding factor?

Just because a stock is lower priced does not mean that the stock is volatile. For instance, a company’s stock price could be low because of a number of stock splits that happened over a period of time. During this time, the value of the shareholders’ investment could have also increased. Therefore, it is important to look at market capitalisation and share price. It is also important to look at the split in stocks. There are methods like two-for-one stock split and one-for-two reverse stock split. Both of these splits are performed by companies in order to encourage investors to buy their shares.

Final thoughts

Insofar as stock investments are considered, it would be best to invest money that is disposable. Also, it would be best to enter into investments based on the company’s performance history. Depending on whether you are entering the stock market for a short term or a long term, you can either invest in low-priced stocks or high-priced stocks. There is no particular rulebook for this. It totally depends on the investor and their capacity to absorb risk, financial freedom, and other lifestyle factors.

Author Bio:

I am a writer who is interested in finance, specifically the stock market. I like to study companies in order to understand how investing in them can be beneficial.