Buckhead financial expert offers tips for first-time investors!
When Ashley M. Fox worked as a financial analyst on Wall Street, her high-earning clients each had more than $25 million to invest, and they also had access to all of the resources and information they needed to choose the right investments for their portfolios. However, Fox recognized that the everyday person typically cannot tap into that kind of stock market knowledge. That prompted her to leave Wall Street behind and start her own company, Empify, that provides people of all socioeconomic backgrounds with around-the clock, easy-to-understand investing education so they can build generational wealth. Here, she shares her insights about becoming a first time investor and how to navigate the process like a financial pro.
When is the best time to become an investor?
The best time was yesterday. The second best time is today. If you are spending money, then you are equipped to become an investor. You can start investing the moment you get a social security number.
But if you haven’t gotten the opportunity yet, I would say that now is the time to start.
How much money do I need to start investing?
People think you need a lot of money to begin investing, but you do not. We encourage people to start with at least $20 per month to build wealth. That’s $5 every week. And you really can $5 your way to $1 million. But you can’t get there if you don’t start.
What are the first steps I need to take as I begin investing?
Start by picking a small amount that you can commit to pay yourself every month to invest. Then you need to open a brokerage account. All brokerage companies do the same thing, so key features to consider are customer service, user-friendliness and educational resources. You may also want to select a brokerage that offers fractional investing; companies like Fidelity and Charles Schwab will allow you to purchase half a share if you have half the amount needed to purchase a full share, but your share will grow at the same rate. Once you’ve chosen your brokerage, you have to figure out what you want to invest in.
How do I choose the companies to invest in?
When you purchase stock, you are becoming part owner of that business. The simplest way to start is by making a list of where you spend your time, money and energy. Take inventory of every company that you utilize. Cross out companies you would not want to own in the next five years. Narrow the list down to your top five and do your research. Go to their investor relations websites; consider their products, their customers and how they make money. It’s not easy to buy stock if you don’t know how a company operates. Make your decisions from there.
What should my goals be when I start to invest?
You can’t work or save your way to wealth. Have passive income goals; purchase stock that pays a dividend every month or 90 days so you receive an income for every share you own. Then set a destination, an understanding of what your goals are. Do you want to retire? Pay off debt? You can set a roadmap when you have a destination. And along the way, remember that the game of building wealth is strictly business. If the market drops, that is normal. You can’t get into the game of investing with the expectation that your stocks will be up every day. The market is not going to disappear. Just take the time to learn the language of wealth. Read it. Speak it. You have the tools you need. You just have to believe that you are a wealth builder.
EMPIFY
empify.com
@empify
