Student Investors are a gaining lot!

Times are such that no one is behind in earning money. Be it a man of 45 who still has a few years to finish off his duty or a fresher who just joined an organization. Even students are not far behind in this ‘earning-money-mill’. The caliber of the students have increased to such an extent that they are being offered money for the part-time services they render. Not only this, they get their pocket money, they win cash awards, they are recruited by administrative centers while they are still studying. With money in hand, they have various options to give a thought. Either they can save it up in small scheme savings in Post offices or traditional banks, or they can always spend them in a jiffy over some X-Boxer games or movie DVDs. Yet another wise option that is doing its round is that of investing them in Markets.
In the following paragraphs, you will see the upshot of some student investors who are lucky enough to be rolling in money. Before that, how do we invest? Or what do we invest and where?

Whether you are still in college or starting your career, getting into the markets early is crucial to your financial success. One way to get your feet wet and learn more about investing is to take part in an investment club. An investment club is a group of people who learn about investing and, sometimes, actively invest their money in a pool combined with the other members. What makes investment clubs better than investing on your own is that investing as part of a club allows you to get different perspectives as you discuss different stocks and why certain stocks appeal to different people. It is almost like playing ‘Monopoly’. Only, we are dealing with real money. One can also start with an online savings account where you can earn a better interest rate than at a traditional bank.

Nevertheless, how does one go about the whole ‘investing processes’?

Rob Santry, who has been an investor since his sophomore, attributes much of his investing success to his involvement with the National Association of Investors Corporation in his statement to the ‘Young Money’ website answers our question. “First, you should sign up for the Virtual Stock Exchange or a similar stock market recreation. This way you can learn how to take risks and practice selecting stocks without risking. Once you have opened up your own account and are ready to invest, you have to be able to find which stock you want to invest in. There are many up-and-coming companies to invest in because such companies including Apple, Quicksilver, Google, Starbucks, American Eagle, and the like target younger adults more.”

Ravi, a final year Arts student with the Ruparel College says, “It is advisable to research a company's financial performance, compare it with competitors, and determine if they are trading at a fair price. If one likes holding his stocks for the long term, he has to make sure he does not have to worry about a company's "existence" over the next five years.” He has been successful in investing his money into the Google systems.

However easy the process may seem, one needs to be very careful. There are varied versions of opinions from people of different sector. Arun Venugopal, doing his II B.Com says, “I would prefer to invest in new companies which will have steady dividends and also FMCGs.”
“I earn money by typing projects and doing DTP for other students and save it up. To pull up a stunt like that to invest in shares it would be shear stupidity”, says Shyam sashidharan, who is doing his III B.E in Rajagiri engineering College.

Vishal, who just now started his career in L&T as a chief engineer is of the view that investing in markets have various options. It can either be stocks, bonds, both with fixed investments and limited return, buying parts of a company and selling them for the same rate at which u bought them. Sometimes, you may also go for equities. It depends on the age too. For a guy like me, its better to have 50% or more of total investments in shares and equities, 20% in National certificates or LIC, another 30% in bonds. And for a guy of 40 years of age, the risk taking will reduce and he will have only 30% or some of his total Investments in equities. Rest will be in LIC, Bonds and others which will assure him money.”

He also noted that one of the best times to put money in the stock market is after periods of large declines. However, regardless of how the market is shaking out, all three stated that if one does decide to invest, diversification is the ‘Mantra’.For those just starting out, one option is to consider is mutual funds, notes Jeyachandran, an agent with the LIC. The best thing you can do is to educate yourself. Listen to everyone, but think for yourself. The other option is to start saving first through Small Saving Schemes in post offices. However, there is a scope for growth in investment. In addition, there is a ‘risk-Factor’ to be taken in account. Even those who struggle to be investing professionals make mistakes. So go ahead and start to learn from your mistakes and your successes!