He asked me, quite sensibly, to help him invest it in stocks.
Being totally new to the stock market, he thought he would need to watch a business channel throughout the day, be on the phone and carry a laptop, so that he could trade all the time!
I didn't ask him to do any of it. Instead, I told him to pursue a hobby, take a holiday, meet his family, start a business, do just about anything, as long as it was not trading.
Invest and wait
I believe investments are not meant to keep you busy. They are meant to make you rich. People who can't have their morning coffee without watching the stock prices don't know the real meaning of investing.
The true investors select their stocks carefully and go fishing in Alaska. No, that's not bizarre. Staying diverted actually helps stay invested for a longer time and let the money grow along with the invested company.
My friend took my advice. He invested the money in a few companies with strong fundamentals and a visible growth.
In one year, his investments fetched around 95 per cent returns.
So, when you forget about your investments, you:
a. Save time
b. Save cost involved in the form of brokerage. The smart brokers who tell you to trade actively are only filling their own pockets.
c. Avoid fretting and the temptation to sell if the stocks prices fall by 10 per cent.
d. Avoid greed and the temptation to buy if it rose by 30 per cent.
e. Follow the Warren Buffet style of investment. Do you think the champion stockbroker would care if the stock markets closed for a whole year? And we all know how rich he is.
f. Give time for your seeds to sow. If you keep removing your seed and change soil every other day, your seed will remain a seed.
g. Enjoy your morning cup of coffee.
Remember, the people who check their stock price every 30 minutes don't become rich, they just become busy.
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