5 Investing Tips for Beginner Investors

Welcome to The Profit Zone, where 12,500+ millionaires, CEO’s and high-performing entrepreneurs read the #1 financial newsletter published on Substack.

If you're not subscribed, click below to join.

Going Back to The Basics

This post is about going back to the basics. Because every investor needs a refresher of the basics every once in a while. If you're a beginner investor, break out the pen and paper, this one's for you.

Without a good foundation as an investor, no matter what type of investor you are, it’s going to be hard to build wealth. Period.

There are 2 ways to benefit from the stock market:

1) The tangibles

2) The intangibles

The tangible benefit is making money of course. Price appreciation. Dividend earnings. All that good stuff you can actually see and touch.

The intangible benefits of investing however are much more important (in my opinion). These go beyond the "making money part". This includes building strong money habits that will serve you for the rest of your investing life.

This post will be all about the intangibles.

So here are 5 investing tips for beginner investors to get you moving in the right direction.

Beginner Investing Tip 1 - Don’t Be Fooled by the Media

If you haven’t noticed already throughout the pandemic, the media’s number one goal is to get views on their content. They create attention-grabbing headlines so that investors like you and I click on them to learn more.

You’ll notice headlines like…

• “2 stocks that will fall by 20% next week”

• “Why you shouldn’t be invested in this one industry”

• “Dividend investors are running for the fences, here’s why…”

Stuff like this generates a lot of clicks because humans are curious creatures. We have a need to find out more about a topic that might affect us. Here’s the thing though…

Most of these headlines are complete bullshit. BULLSHIT.

Like I said, the media wants you to click on their content. The majority of the time they aren’t spilling the facts, so don’t let it have an impact on your own investment decisions. It’s true that the most effective portfolio is usually the one that is left untouched. Don’t let the media scare you into making choices with your own hard-earned money.

Beginner Investing Tip 2 - Know YOUR Risk Tolerance

Understanding your own risk tolerance is one of the first things you should figure out BEFORE you start investing. It will determine what types of industries you invest in, how to structure your portfolio and ultimately allow you to sleep better at night.

I can’t count how many times I’ve asked a new investor their risk tolerance and the majority respond with “low to moderate” only to find out that they’re invested in penny stocks, IPO’s and speculative companies that have yet to make a profit. Don’t be that person.

As your investment goals change, so might your tolerance to risk. The younger you are, the more time you have on your side and therefore you might be able to afford to take on more risk for more reward. If you're older and approaching retirement, it may be time to sell all of those tech stocks and put your money somewhere that grows slowly but steadily.

There’s no doubt that your risk tolerance may change over time, but it’s important to know where you stand so that your investments can reflect that.

Beginner Investing Tip 3 - Index Funds Then Branch Out

Investing is about creating wealth in the simplest most efficient way possible. Most beginners get into the market expecting to make 1,000% gains right off the bat and it ends up hurting them in the long run. The best thing beginner investors can do for themselves and their net worth is to start by buying index funds.

Why?

When you buy index funds, you’re buying into 1 fund that owns a bunch of different companies. The average investor either doesn’t know how to analyze a company or just simply has no interest in doing so. I get it, doing analysis for hours can be extremely boring. But buying index funds eliminates the need to “put all of your eggs in 1 basket” and instead allows you to spread your eggs across many different companies.

Investing in index funds also allows you to get some skin in the game while building those good money habits along the way. It’s a very passive investing strategy that is quite effective over a long period of time. When you start to get familiar with the market and how it behaves, then you can try your hand at picking individual stocks. But until then, index funds might be the way to go.

Some of my favorite index funds (ETFs) for beginners:

VOO - Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF (or $VFV if you’re Canadian)

VTI - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF (USD)

VUN - Vanguard US Total Market Index ETF (CAD)

VDY - Vanguard FTSE Canadian High Dividend Yield Idx ETF (CAD)

VGT - Vanguard Information Technology Index Fund ETF (USD)

Beginner Investing Tip 4 - Automate & Chill

When it comes to investing, automation is your friend. It just makes investing that much easier. When everything is automated you don’t even have to lift a finger while your money grows on itself. The less you have to do, the less overwhelming you make investing and the more likely you’ll stick to it long-term.

2 Ways to Automate Investing:

1) Set up weekly/monthly/yearly contributions to your account. I personally have a $100/week automatic contribution into my dividend account which has made a world of difference for my portfolio’s growth. Every time I log into my account (which is not often) I’m pleased to see a decent-sized cash position ready to be deployed into the market.

2) Use DRIP to your advantage. DRIP stands for Dividend Reinvestment Plan and it’s one of the most useful automation tools, especially for dividend investors. Most brokerages offer it and it allows you to automatically reinvest any dividends earned back into more shares of that same company. When you use DRIP, you’ll notice that your dividend payouts will start growing without you having to do a thing.

More shares = more money

Beginner Investing Tip 5 - Keep Costs Low

One of my biggest regrets as an investor is not switching brokerages earlier than I did. Over a period of about 3 years, I was with an investment brokerage that charged me $9.95 to buy and sell stocks. Over that time period, I probably threw away over $200 in fees just from buying and selling. It doesn’t seem like a lot but just imagine how much that would be over 30 years. It makes a huge difference.

It’s important to find a brokerage that either offers low fees or better yet, no-fee trading. There are tons to choose from but choose wisely.

Another thing to note, make sure you’re aware of any hidden charges like inactivity fees, account minimums or over-trading fees. These can also cut into your profits over time if you’re not careful.

Another way to keep costs low, especially if you’re investing in index funds, is to be aware of the Management Expense Ratio (MER). This is the fee you pay for management, operating expenses and taxes as an investor holding index funds.

The average MER for actively managed funds is between 0.5-1% while the average MER for passively managed funds (most index funds) is about 0.2%. The majority of my funds sit around the 0.08-0.12% range which allows me to keep more of my profits over time.

Here’s a graph that illustrates the impact of fees over a 20-year period:

The difference between a 0.25% and a 0.50% fee over 20 years could amount to about $10,000. That’s a lot of money to be throwing away for no reason. Make sure you’re aware of your fees so you can keep your money in YOUR pocket.

Wealth isn't about how much you can make, it's about how much you can keep. The average person will make enough to retire relatively wealthy, but how they spend their money is the difference between someone who retires with millions and someone who struggles to fund their retirement.

TLDR

To sum it up, here are 5 tips for all beginner investors:

1) Don’t be fooled by the media

2) Know YOUR risk tolerance

3) Index funds then branch out

4) Automate everything

5) Keep costs low

Thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next one.

Alex (The Dividend Dominator) Founder and CEO of Dividend Domination Inc.

Follow me on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn

Some resources to help you make more money:

• My Full Stock Portfolio - get access to all of my positions and get updates every time I buy or sell.

• Money Mastermind - the “Money Bible”. Myself and 29 other expert creators teamed up to create the most all-inclusive 280-page finance book on the market. Over 100 topics about money including real estate, crypto, budgeting, dividend stocks, online business, and more.

• The Complete Investors Accelerator Pack - everything you need to build a dividend portfolio that grows on itself. Learn more about dividend investing, how to analyze dividend stocks, what to do with your dividends and how to build a stream of passive income through the stock market.

• The Molina Letter - the only product that’s helped me grow my Twitter account to 30,000 followers. Fill in the blank templates you can copy to help you create viral content with minimal effort. A big following gives you the key to creating products and making money online. There’s a reason why 500 people are subscribed to this letter.

• TweetHunter - let the software do the tweeting for you. The only scheduler you’ll ever need. This tool makes me money in my sleep. Give it a try for free.

• Hipster Budget Guide - having trouble saving money? Learning how to budget is your solution. This book will show you ways to save money you never even thought of. Worth every penny.

Disclaimer: The publisher does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information provided in this page. All statements and expressions herein are the sole opinion of the author or paid advertiser.

Dividend Dominator is a publisher of financial information, not an investment advisor. We do not provide personalized or individualized investment advice or information that is tailored to the needs of any particular recipient.

THE INFORMATION CONTAINED ON THIS WEBSITE IS NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS INVESTMENT ADVICE, AND DOES NOT PURPORT TO BE AND DOES NOT EXPRESS ANY OPINION AS TO THE PRICE AT WHICH THE SECURITIES OF ANY COMPANY MAY TRADE AT ANY TIME. THE INFORMATION AND OPINIONS PROVIDED HEREIN SHOULD NOT BE TAKEN AS SPECIFIC ADVICE ON THE MERITS OF ANY INVESTMENT DECISION. INVESTORS SHOULD MAKE THEIR OWN INVESTIGATION AND DECISIONS REGARDING THE PROSPECTS OF ANY COMPANY DISCUSSED HEREIN BASED ON SUCH INVESTORS’ OWN REVIEW OF PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT RELY ON THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN.

Any projections, market outlooks or estimates herein are forward-looking statements and are inherently unreliable. They are based upon certain assumptions and should not be construed to be indicative of the actual events that will occur. Other events that were not taken into account may occur and may significantly affect the returns or performance of the securities discussed herein. The information provided herein is based on matters as they exist as of the date of preparation and not as of any future date, and the publisher undertakes no obligation to correct, update or revise the information in this document or to otherwise provide any additional material.

The publisher, its affiliates, and clients of the publisher or its affiliates may currently have long or short positions in the securities of the companies mentioned herein or may have such a position in the future (and therefore may profit from fluctuations in the trading price of the securities). To the extent such persons do have such positions, there is no guarantee that such persons will maintain such positions.

Neither the publisher nor any of its affiliates accept any liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss howsoever arising, directly or indirectly, from any use of the information contained herein.

By using the Site or any affiliated social media account, you are indicating your consent and agreement to this disclaimer and our terms of use. Unauthorized reproduction of this newsletter or its contents by photocopy, facsimile or any other means is illegal and punishable by law.