How to Start Investing?
Investing can be scary. The fear of the unknown always is. And the case for Millennials is worse, especially considering many of them graduated into a financial crisis and witnessed the stock market plummet nearly 40% in 2008. That kind of traumatic experience sticks with you, just as the Great Depression forced an entire generation of Americans to develop very frugal habits. However, it’s important that young adults overcome their fears and start investing to secure their financial future. Waiting too long and starting too late can result in not having saved enough for retirement. After all, the stock market doesn’t plunge every other year and investing volatility is why experts always recommend you pick long-term investments, not short-term trades. Below, we will discuss how to start investing, including the power of compounding interest, the average return of the stock market over the last 100 years, how to choose a brokerage account that is right for you, and finally, investment tips for beginners who may need some guidance.
Average Stock Market Returns
For starters, let me provide some basic background on expected average stock market returns. Between the beginning of 1900 and the end of 2015, the stock market returned an average 11.53%. To make sure that these dates were not cherry-picked, let’s remember what happened during this time period: two World Wars, the Great Depression, Vietnam War, Korean War, an oil embargo, multiple terrorist attacks, and a number of recessions caused by economic boom and bust cycles.
Even if you decide to solely focus on the most recent recession, including the roughly 37% drop in equities in 2008, the stock market has returned over 8.40% between 2007 and 2015. This is because the drop in the S&P 500 was closely followed by a slow recovery that ultimately helped investors recover their investments and then some. The point is, despite recessions and individual years with negative returns, the stock market averages a strong positive return over time.
Time in the Market vs. Timing the Market
It is also important to point out that investors cannot time the market. In fact, research shows that a handful of days each year are actually responsible for the majority of the gains in that year. The chart below, which reflects data compiled by JPMorgan Asset Management, demonstrates that an investor would have earned a 9.22% return if they were fully invested between 1993 and 2013. But if an investor were to have missed the top ten trading days out of ten years, the return would have decreased to 5.49%.
New investors should ask themselves: out of the more than 2,500 trading days in that 10 year period, would you have been able to pick the top 10 highest earning days?
Start Early – The Power of Compounding
Another reason why Millennials and young families should start investing as early as possible is the power of compounding. If you aren’t familiar with the concept of “compounding” returns, it is when you earn a gain on your principal the first year, and then begin to earn returns on your previous returns. For example, if you invest $1,000 and earn an average 10% return annually, your investment will grow to $1,100 after the first year. After the second year, you won’t just earn another $100 but $110, for a total of $1,210. And the third year you will earn $121 for a total value of $1,331.
On a small scale, this doesn’t seem like much, but assume you invest $1,000 per year for 30 years and average a conservative 8% return. Instead of having $30,000 in a checking account, you will have accumulated a little more than $132,000. Compounding returns are critical to investors because they allow you to turn small principal contributions over a long period of time into large nest eggs. Keep in mind that Albert Einstein called compounding interest “the most powerful force in the universe.”
How to Choose a Brokerage Account
Once you’ve made the decision to start investing for your future, you must decide on your investment strategy and how to execute it. There are many brokerage houses or investing platforms available today – some of which have been around for decades, while others have leveraged new technology to offer consumers alternatives to traditional companies.
Traditional Investment Management
A decade ago, investors had to choose between mutual fund managers such as Vanguard, Fidelity, and BlackRock (iShares) and discount brokerage firms such as TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, and Scottrade. Mutual and index fund managers are ideal for passive investors. If you don’t know much about investing except for the basics, an index fund or ETF from Vanguard or Fidelity may be best – both securities use broad indexes as benchmarks and can be a way for investors to mimic returns from the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, or NASDAQ.
On the other hand, if your employer 401K is already held with one of those mutual fund managers, you may want your private investment portfolio to be at a brokerage house. Discount brokers offer a variety of services, but they are ideal for investing in specific securities or trading stock options.
Stock Market Investing Tips – Dos and Don’ts
Finally, when you pick a platform and start investing, it is important to develop a basic investment philosophy. While each investor has a different risk tolerance and way of choosing his investments, here are a few stock market tips to help you understand the fundamentals.
Starting anything new can be intimidating, but that’s no excuse to procrastinate and avoid securing your family’s financial future. To eventually reach financial independence, young adults and families need to start investing early to take advantage of time and compounding returns. If you are skeptical or fearful, starting small is an option. Ultimately, successful investing is all about taking simple steps and executing on fundamental principles on a regular basis.
Pay off Student Loans within 6 Months of Graduating
69% of seniors who graduated from public and nonprofit colleges in 2013 had student loan debt, averaging $28,400 per borrower. College was an unforgettable experience that we’d do over again if possible. It was a safe place to explore new opportunities and build relationships that could last a lifetime. Fast-forward to today and graduates are forced to make decisions within financial constraints. For example, someone graduating with 40k in debt might move in with their parents to save money on rent. While this decision is fiscally responsible, it can impact one’s career trajectory. A lot of smart people credit their career success to having optimized learning early on in their careers. There are two ways to pay back loans. The first is to make the minimum payment each month for 120 months and put payback on auto-pilot. The second is to pay them off as quickly as possible to avoid interest. With most lenders offering a six-month grace period for interest, I’d like to explore a few ways to eliminate them.
People are usually more than willing to part with old stuff. I’d never recommend soliciting to sell people’s junk. Start with your old stuff, friends that could be moving, or family member’s stuff that might be ready for a spring cleaning. You’d be surprised at how well things retain their value. Offer to split the sale 50/50. To make this worth your time look for things that are in excellent condition, vintage, or retain value well.
If it can fit in a box, sell it on eBay. I’d start with electronics or brand name clothing. Remember all those things you “had to have” before being a poor college student? Give your listings a title that would appear if they were sold new on a retail site, take great pictures, and start them as an auction at $0.99 with no reserve. This will help your listings get seen by the most amount of people.
If you’re moving away from campus after graduating, you can use Trove to sell furniture before you go. There’s always a large amount of furniture in perfect condition sitting on the curb during move-out week. People will pay good money for well-kept, used furniture. If posted on the right website, you should have no problem getting back some of what you paid for yours. Trove is also a great option for buying brand name used furniture at a fraction of the cost.
Being an Airbnb host is a legitimate alternative to living at home after graduating. The supplemental income earned from one room can cover a month’s worth of total expenses. This can free up regular income and allow you to throw entire paychecks at those annoying loans, bringing them down quickly. Even further, hosting after completing loan payback, can eliminate living paycheck to paycheck.
Of the four options mentioned, Airbnb has the highest return on effort. Home sharing is relatively new, and a lot of people are still on the fence about it. I’ve hosted over 100 guests and have never had a terrible experience.
The freedom of being debt free significantly outweighs the sacrifice it takes to get there. Implementing the tactics above increases your ability to chase opportunities and take calculated risks. It will also give you a real world crash course in personal finance. These methods above can help you make huge amount of money even if you have a full time job.