More books and articles have been written on the stock market than on perhaps any other business subject in the world.
Most of these have as their purpose instructing the reader on exactly how he can invest to make a sizable amount of money, and if he really applies himself, how he can become rich in either three or five years.
One of the most useful books written appeared in 1961. It did not tell you how to get rich. It emphasized the difficulties of investing in the stock market and it performed a tremendous service in this way, plus isolating the significant factors which record and explain the ups and downs of the market.
To invest in the market by following the procedures outlined in that book is anything but easy.
It requires a considerable amount of work every day the stock market is in operation. The book is written more for the professional investor to tell him how to make maximum profits out of both the rises and falls of the market.
The average investor will not take the time or perform the work necessary to maximize his profits, and he is satisfied with something less than maximum profits over a period of time. It is this type of person that we are writing for, not the professional investor who often spends 100% of his time on investments. We are, furthermore, writing for the smaller investor, not for the larger, professional one.
When we talk about the stock market we are not trying to write one more treatise on how to get wealthy in the stock market.
We do not present it as the only outlet for funds, although it certainly is for many people who know only the stock market on the one hand and the savings bank on the other. We treat the stock market as one outlet for funds, an outlet that can be almost the only good outlet at certain times, and a terrible outlet at other times one that offers too much risk.
In 1960 the stock market for the non-professional investor was, in my opinion, a substandard investment. Other investments in my portfolio yielded 12% and 14% and sent checks monthly, and the underlying businesses grew stronger while a number of the major firms listed on the Stock Exchanges showed declining profits and the trend of the market was down until late in the year. An inexpert investor in the stock market during most of the year 1960 would have had the cards stacked against him.
If we consider investments primarily of the loan type, those in which a person or organization is obligated to return a given number of dollars, plus a profit, over a period of months or years. Above everything, the proper investigation of these risks and safeguards against losses have been stressed.
The stock market is good for long term investing especially through investment trusts
and unit trusts.
Forex is more risky but greater profits can be made. Good software will help you to reduce the risks if you trade the Forex.