Investing in the stock market is an exciting proposition for the first-time investor. But many new investors commit errors with devastating consequences they could have avoided if they had taken the time to better prepare themselves.  Here are five of the most common mistakes beginning investors make and what to do about them.

Putting Investment Eggs in One Basket

Having too narrow a portfolio exposes you to financial risk if there’s ever another stock market collapse or if one or two investments fail. Investing in several different asset classes (e.g. stocks, bonds, money market instruments, commodities, index funds) reduces your risk and helps you better meet your investment goals. However, don’t go in the opposite direction and spread your assets too thinly. In this instance, you run the risk of achieving only a small return and failing to achieve your investment goals.

Failing to Create an Investment Plan

Many new investors fail to create a plan that will help them make their investment goals. You need to know where you’re going, otherwise you wont know when youve achieved success. At a minimum, an investment plan should answer the following questions:

• Why are you investing and which investments will best meet goals?

• What risks come with the investments you want to make?

• How will you distribute funds to your portfolio’s asset classes to carry out your goals and address identified risks?

• How will you determine the success of your portfolio?

Answering these questions ensures that you start your investment career on a solid foundation.

Making Emotion-Laden Decisions 

A common trap beginning investors, and even many seasoned ones, fall into is making decisions based on irrational fears and unrealistic expectations. Instead, investment decisions need to be based on hard research and factual analysis. This can easily be accomplished with the help of a financial news app that provides clear, credible thinking on the markets and investing.

Paying Too Much for Investment Services

Transaction fees , mutual fund expense ratios. and advisory service fees, can make a substantial dent in your investment profits. It’s important, therefore, to understand all the fees and expenses associated with the investments you want to purchase.  Reducing fees and expenses as much as possible can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars over a life time of investing.

Are you a trader or an investor?  When you invest in a company’s stock, you are in it for the long haul. Stock prices are going to rise and fall, but you don’t view this movement as your main reason for buying or selling a stock. Traders, however, buy stock with the expectation that the price will go up. When it does, they sell it and move on to the next big money-maker. If you have long-term goals, you need to be an investor and not a trader.