Brian Mathews 2016年5月22日
對新手來說投資可能是一個非常痛苦的過程。當今世界有許多能影響投資者決定的因素，它們的影響好壞參半。你可以通過簡單的自我教學和建立一個財務計劃來大大減小首次投資的壓力。
新手投資者最大的障礙之一是對未知的恐懼。這種恐懼通常會使新手投資者放棄他們原有的投資動機並做出情緒化的決定。建立一個合適的財務計劃能幫助你建立一個投資目標並保證你在緊張時不偏離軌道。
1.建立預算
投資之前首先要做的事是建立一個預算。首先要詳細記錄每個月的所有支出。在這之後，用支出與所有的收入來源對比。找出未來可能的大項支出，例如年度稅款或者會員費。下一步是建立一個三到六個月的應急支出儲備。你可以提取這個儲備的盈餘並標記出用於哪種類型的投資。有這些餘額的緩沖有助於減少財務壓力和保持長期投資。
除了房貸和低息車貸之外，投資之前你還應該盡量減少其他未償還貸款。信用卡和個人無抵押貸款的利息非常高，償還這些貸款應該優先於投資。
2.了解投資風險
潛在投資者應該充分了解各種類型的投資風險和他們相對的時間週期。在選擇投資時個人風險承受能力是非常重要的。例如，投機性投資對不能承受損失的投資者來說是個非常糟糕的選擇。此外，了解風險和潛在回報之前的關系也是很重要的。高收益的投資通常伴隨著更大的風險。例如，銀行存款機會不會對本金產生風險，但是回報也相對較低。一支上漲的股票可能實現兩位數的回報率，但是損失也可能達到兩位數。
3.確定合適的投資賬戶
確定你進行投資的最終目標，無論它是積攢退休儲備還是進行孩子的教育儲備。這對時間週期和流動性需求都有很大的影響。一個年輕人有20到30年的時間進行退休儲備。在這種情況下個人退休金賬戶或者401k賬戶將是一個好的選擇。選擇這種賬戶是因為投資週期很長而且沒有短期資金需求。
如果你需要僅僅在幾年之後就提取這比資金，那麼考慮下普通投資賬戶，因為個人退休金賬戶不能在59歲之前取錢。盡管這種普通投資賬戶不帶有有利稅率，它卻能允許你隨時提取投資資金。在決定使用何種投資賬戶時確定時間週期和流動性需求是非常重要的。
4.合理的投資選擇和多樣化
建立合適的投資賬戶類型之後要做的就是選擇正確的投資了。在確定哪種投資會出現合理回報時需要使用分析師的調查報告進行深入研究。投資應該結合風險偏好和資金流動性需求。股票和債券的流動性很大，資金可以在三天之後得到結算。養老金和未上市交易的投資流動性很小，而且帶有巨大的提前退出懲罰。
當你在選擇投資時，一定要通過多資產和多闆塊使投資合理的多樣化，這樣通常能減小風險並增加整體回報。共同基金和交易所買賣基金是多樣化投資的很好方式，但是他們帶有額外的成本。盡管一些股票可能有良好的記錄，但是在你的投資組合裡只有一支或者幾支股票將會伴隨更大的下行風險。整體考慮你的投資並確保他們能符合你的風險承受能力並幫你實現投資目標。
5.建立一個財務計劃並進行監控
最後的步驟是使用之前四步的信息建立一個財務計劃。對許多人來說投資極其容易受到情緒影響，尤其是在管理自己的資金的時候。生活隨著時間變化，觀察財務計劃可以幫助你做出合理的改變或者保持原樣。當股票市場波動加大時，投資者可以參考財務計劃來記住長期投資目標並堅持到底。做出感情化的決定和試圖判斷市場時機可能對你投資的長期回報產生負面影響，因此參考財務計劃避免這些錯誤的發生是非常重要的。
5 Ways New Investors Can Reduce Stress
By Brian Mathews | May 22, 2016 — 8:00 AM EDT
Investing can be a scary endeavor for first-timers. In today’s world, there are many resources that can influence an investor’s decision-making, either for better or worse. You can drastically reduce the stress that comes with first-time investing by simply educating yourself and developing a financial plan.
One of the biggest obstacles for beginning investors is a fear of the unknown. This fear often causes first-time investors to abandon their original motives for investing and make decisions based on emotion. Developing a proper financial plan can help you develop an investment goal while keeping you on track when the times are tough.
1. Develop a Budget
The first thing to do before investing is to create a budget. Begin by carefully tracking all expenses on a monthly basis. Once this is established, compare expenses against all income sources. Look for large future expenditures, like an annual tax bill or membership dues. After a budget is created, the next step is to establish an emergency cash reserve of three to six months of expenses. Only from this reserve can you take any surplus money and earmark that toward any type of investment. Having the extra cash cushion for expenses will help reduce financial stress and keep the money invested for the long term.
Outside of a home mortgage or low-interest auto loan, your focus should be on reducing debt balances prior to investing. Credit cards or unsecured personal loans often carry high APR interest payments, and paying these off should be a priority over investing.
2. Understand Investment Risk
Potential investors should be fully aware of the different types of investment risk and how they relate to a specific time horizon. Personal risk tolerance is extremely important when selecting investments, as well. For example, speculative investments are a poor choice for investors who are uncomfortable with losses. Additionally, understanding the correlation between risk and potential return is important. Higher-returning investments generally carry more downside risk. For example, a bank certificate of deposit offers virtually no risk to principle, but has a low interest payment. A growth stock may have the potential for double-digit returns, but losses can hit double digits, as well.
3. Determine the Proper Investment Account
Determine the ultimate goal behind investing, whether it is to help fund retirement or to save for a child’s education. This has a great effect on both time horizon and liquidity needs. A younger adult saving for retirement has a 20- to 30-year time horizon. An appropriate investment account in this case may be an IRA or 401k that offers tax-deferred growth. These types of accounts work because the investment is meant to be long term, and there is no immediate need for liquidity.
If you are looking to withdraw money after only a few years, consider a taxable account where the IRS does not penalize withdrawals made prior to age 59 and one-half. Although there is no tax advantage in this type of account, it allows you to convert the investment into cash. Determining the proper time horizon and need for liquidity is important when deciding what type of investment account to use.
4. Proper Investment Selection and Diversification
Once the proper account type is set up, choosing the correct investments is the next step. Conduct thorough research through companies like Morningstar or by using analyst research reports when determining which investments are a potential fit. The investments should align with both your investment risk preferences and liquidity needs. Stocks and bonds are generally liquid, with funds being available after a three-day settlement. Annuities and non-publicly traded investments are not liquid and often have long lock-up periods or large penalties to exit early.
When selecting investments, be sure to properly diversify among many asset classes and sectors, as this often reduces risk while increasing overall return. Mutual funds or ETFs are a great way to get instant diversification, but remember that they carry an extra yearly cost. Even though some individual stocks may have excellent track records, there is significantly more downside risk to only owning one or a few in your portfolio. Consider all of your investments in unison, and be sure that they both match your risk tolerance and will help achieve your investment goals.
5. Create and Monitor a Financial Plan
The final step is to create a financial plan with the information from the prior four steps. Investing is extremely emotional for most people, especially if they are managing their own money. Life changes with time, and looking at a financial plan can help you make appropriate changes or stay the course. When the stock market goes through volatility, an investor can refer back to a financial plan to remember the long-term goal and stay the course. Making emotional decisions or attempting to time the market can have a negative effect on the long-term return of your investment portfolio, so it is important to refer to a financial plan to avoid these potential mistakes.
本文翻譯由兄弟財經提供
文章來源：http://www.investopedia.com/articles/insights/052216/5-ways-new-investors-can-reduce-stress.asp