I’ve had my share of good investments and bad investments. Some investments really did work out for me and some did not but I call that learning experience. The reason I’m writing this post is because Apple recently announced a 4-to-1 stock split to take effect in August. I wrote in an earlier post that I started investing in more tech stocks because of the way the Covid-19 pandemic impacted us and how I saw that technology was being relied on more and more. Guess what? I did invest in Apple! It did go up and I’ll be going through a 4-to-1 stock split!

Before I start jumping up and down, stock splits don’t mean that the value of my Apple stocks go up. No, the value stays the same. The price will go down 4 times but I’ll have 4 times as many shares. For example, if Apple trades at $400 and let’s say I have 100 shares, the value of this is $40,000. After the stock split, I would have 400 shares at $100 per share still valuing at $40,000. Regardless of how many shares you might have, a stock split is a good thing and the hope is that the stock price will continue to grow. It means that the company you invested in is doing well.

How do you know if an investment is right? No one can predict the future but here are a few techniques I use to help me make informed decisions.

Stay Up To Date

Keep up with what’s going around in the news, globally, nationally, and locally. I know it’s a lot of information but investments are affected by certain news. I got hooked on Morning Brew after watching one of Graham Stephan’s YouTube videos. Morning Brew sends you daily emails of news and it helps me stay up to date on what is happening in the news. I also read headline articles from the major news organizations as well.

Do Your Research

Take the time to know where you plan to invest in and if it’s a good time. I looked at Apple historically and Apple has had a good track record, paying out dividends, and steady growth. Also, I know Apple products and how well they are made, how popular their devices are, and that they have a solid market share. Apple stock has gone through a split 4 times in its history. With all this, it made sense for me to invest in them. In addition, knowing that the Covid-19 pandemic requires more reliance on technology, I decided to invest in Apple.

Be In It For The Long Haul

Doubling your money is fantastic! Doubling your money in a short period of time is not the norm. Your investment will take time to grow and your investment value will fluctuate up and down. If you believe you’ve done the right research, your investment will go up eventually.

Don’t Panic

If your investment goes down, don’t panic. Take the time to stay updated on the latest news that affect your investment, do your research, and make sound decisions based on this and not based on emotions. I’ve made investment decisions in the past based on emotions and got burned for it instead of doing my research.

Make Sound Decisions

Make your decisions based on the facts, your research, and your knowledge, and not based on emotions. A sudden decline might trigger you to sell but will your investment bounce right back? That’s a question you have to keep in mind and look at the trend, the news, and your research.

Not every investment will result in a positive return and that’s the risk you take with investing. I’ve had experiences where I am negative on certain investments but luckily, my portfolio as a whole is positive. I’ve taken the time to stay up to date on the news, researching, and reminding myself that I’m in it for the long haul. If you are interested in following my journey, email subscribe to get alerts of latest posts or follow me on Facebook.