Advantages and disadvantages of investing in stocks

Investing in stocks is an essential part of growing a store of wealth. Your assets will help you finance your post-retirement lifestyle, put down a down payment on a property or educate your children.

Stock portfolios carry some risk as prices are subject to fluctuations, but over time stock markets have proven to be resilient and can help fight inflation. You’ll also pay less tax on investment income, so investing in stocks makes financial sense.

This article examines the risks and rewards of investing in stocks and how they can affect your portfolio.

Equity risk

Investing in stocks involves risk. It comes with the territory – generally, the higher the reward, the higher the risk you have to take. Sophisticated investors manage these risks through portfolio diversification. Unless you take some risk in your investment decisions, your accumulated wealth is unlikely to keep pace with inflation. A stock portfolio is fundamental for a medium and long-term financial strategy.

Market risk

Market risk, also known as systemic risk, is the risk that you will lose money due to economic, political or other events that affect the market in general. The three types of market risk are:

• Equity risk: The risk that stock prices will fall in response to supply and demand or market expectations.
• Risk of change : If you hold foreign stocks, an adverse change in the value of the currency will reduce the value of your investment.
• Interest rate risk: Changes in interest rates can affect market performance because interest rates affect the cost of servicing debt. Most businesses rely on borrowed money for their growth and expansion. So when interest rates rise, companies have higher liabilities. They will also be more reluctant to borrow money to invest. The combination of higher liabilities and slower growth can hurt stock values.

Concentration risk

Concentration risk is the risk you run if you put too much of your income in one type of investment. Diversifying your portfolio spreads the risk across multiple assets so your money isn’t overexposed to a single industry or sector.

Inflation risk

When prices rise, the costs of production inputs also rise. More often than not, high inflation is also accompanied by rising interest rates as central banks strive to control inflation. High inflation can be destructive and lead to damaging recessions. Investing in stocks remains the best way to protect the value of your savings, as history shows that over time the value of stocks outweighs the effects of inflation.

Volatility risk

Investors are often faced with unpredictable price movements. Stock values ​​that move quickly and significantly are considered volatile. If you have invested a large amount in these stocks, you risk a substantial loss.

Liquidity risk

Liquidity measures the ease with which it is possible to buy and sell an investment. If you have invested in stocks for which there are few buyers, you may not be able to sell your stocks when you need them. You can also move market prices if you try to trade a larger stock than liquidity allows.

Rewards of investing in stocks

You can find many good reasons why you should start investing in stocks as soon as possible. Some of the rewards you can expect from your stock market investment are listed here.

Better long-term returns

Although stocks go up and down, their value should increase over time. Stocks are one of the best inflation hedges investors will find, as they will typically outpace inflation. On average, the stock market has returned 10% since 1926. This return is considerably higher than returns on government bonds or time deposits. As a shareholder, you can sell your shares whenever you want, so you can sell when the stock price looks good.

Dividend income

Dividend income can be a tax-efficient source of income. You can also reinvest your dividends and buy additional shares to increase your wealth. The value of dividends accumulates over time, so your dividends grow dividends and your assets grow at a faster rate.

Liquidity

Stocks are generally easier to sell than other assets like property, jewelry or art. Most stocks are publicly traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold on stock exchanges. This liquidity means that if you need to buy or sell a position, you usually can.

Fiscal advantages

Tax rates on capital gains and dividends are generally lower than taxes on employment income. If your investment is part of your retirement savings, as part of your IRA, you won’t have to pay income tax when you earn it. You could instead choose to pay the tax when you retire after retirement.

Diversification

Stocks give you an easy way to diversify your investment portfolio, which can include cryptocurrencies, property, and bonds. Diversification will help you improve your risk profile and maximize your profits. You can also start small with fractional shares and grow your investment over time.

Who should invest in stocks?

Everyone needs a store of wealth, so everyone can benefit from investing in stocks over the medium to long term. Such investments are best for:

Retirement investors: While there are stock market investors who can make a profit on stocks in the short term, long-term investors typically ride out the ups and downs of the stock market, increasing their wealth over time.

Parents: An education has become notoriously expensive and the cost of a college education is only expected to increase. Many parents invest in stocks to build assets from which to fund their children’s college education.

Young people: For young people with little money, investing in the stock market may seem like a pipe dream, but you don’t need a lot of money to get started. There will come a time when you want to put down a mortgage on a new house, buy a car, or go on a dream vacation abroad. It’s better to take advantage of the compound interest earned on your stock investment than to borrow money for those big purchases and pay interest.

Compare Stock Brokers

Whether you’re new to the stock market or a seasoned investor, you may be wondering which stocks to buy early in your investing journey. Benzinga compares the best stocks by sector and online stockbrokers in one place, making it easy to choose.

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