6 unnecessary fears that hinder a novice investor.

Almost anyone can take their first steps in the securities market.

1. I don’t have enough free money to invest.

To make serious income, you really need large sums. However, you can get acquainted with the field of investment with very modest reserves.

First, you should carefully read the investment offers of your bank. They can be found in the mobile application. Some financial organizations offer to start with an amount of one thousand rubles. Of course, this is more of a symbolic contribution. You can start a more serious acquaintance with the field of investment with 5–10 thousand.

You will not immediately receive a noticeable profit from such an investment. But you will learn in detail how investors operate and draw a conclusion whether this method of increasing finances is right for you. And then you don’t have to spend the income from investments, but re-invest them - this way the assets will gradually grow.

If you see that your investments are really generating income, try to slightly increase your investment capital. For example, add 3-5 thousand to it every month after receiving your salary. Or 5–10% of regular income. In investing, a systematic approach is more important than the initial amount.

The main thing is to use only free money to start. Before investing in securities, you should make sure that all basic life needs are covered, and you have at least a small safety net in case of force majeure. And under no circumstances should you invest money that you borrowed into investments.

2. I don’t have special knowledge, which means I can’t handle it

What you definitely shouldn’t do is invest large sums at random. Or use the advice of bloggers and self-proclaimed experts unknown to you. If you want to learn the ABCs of investing, check out the beginner information in your banking app.

To understand the basic concepts and take the first steps, you don’t need any special knowledge. Banks often post answers to the most popular questions from novice investors. In addition, they offer ready-made share packages. 

If, after your first attempts, the field of investing seems interesting to you and you want to continue, look for the investment section in your bank's app. Often, large financial organizations offer not only courses for beginners, but also articles from experts, market news with commentary, and reviews of interesting investment ideas. 

Over time, you will be able to understand this flow. And gradually gain special knowledge that may allow you not to rely on ready-made package offers, but to build your own investment portfolio.  

3. I don't have time to understand all the intricacies

This point is a continuation of the previous one. Those for whom investment profit is their main income really spend a lot of time on the process. No wonder - this is their job, and they are busy with it for several hours a day. If you are just starting to get acquainted with the investment market, you won’t need a lot of free time.

It only takes a few minutes to register in the bank’s special investment application or open a brokerage account. You can also quickly purchase a ready-made package offered by the bank. Let us repeat: let its cost be low at the very beginning. Your first task is not to get serious income, but to get acquainted with the mechanisms of investment. 

You can also go through an educational program for a novice investor, which is offered by some financial organizations, quite quickly. So one of the popular banks offers a course in which there are about 10 lessons, and all of them are no longer than half an hour. Of course, such a kind of “textbook” will be enough only for the very first steps in the market. Well, then you decide for yourself how much of your time you are ready to devote to an in-depth study of the topic.

4. I will make a lot of mistakes at the start and lose all my money

This item is for those who are not suitable for ready-made offers from the bank. If you want to decide for yourself where to invest your money, but are afraid of making a mistake, it’s worth remembering a few basic rules.

• Buy only reliable securities. Firstly, these are bonds. The income on them can exceed the interest on deposits, and the risk of losing funds is minimal. Secondly, shares of well-known companies that have been on the market for a long time and have proven more than once that they can survive any shocks and cataclysms. For example, you can pay attention to the securities of large companies, one of the main shareholders of which is the state.
• Diversify your assets. This means that you don’t have to buy shares of just one company with all your money. This is a very risky step. You should not do it, even if analysts predict high growth for the selected securities. It is better to buy shares of different companies. In this case, if one security loses value, the rest may rise. Due to this, you will not go into the red.

Of course, a novice investor can make mistakes. That is why it is worth starting with small amounts and increasing the investment portfolio gradually. When you begin to better understand the laws by which the market lives, there will be fewer mistakes. Then, if you find it necessary, you will be able to invest more money in securities. In doing so, you will most likely learn to take small losses in stride and know how to avoid a major failure.   

5. A crisis will happen, and then I will definitely lose everything

If you follow both rules from the previous paragraph, the likelihood of such an event is minimal. Unreliable fly-by-night companies can really go bankrupt, and the money invested in them can disappear without a trace. But imagine that you chose a company that appeared in the last century or at the beginning of the 2000s. It has survived several serious crises, remained afloat and continues to develop. This means that its shares can be considered as a good investment option. 

Of course, there is no guarantee that the securities of such a company will not fall in price. Some shares will certainly fall in price, and this may indeed happen suddenly. To minimize risks, diversification is needed. There are no absolute guarantees, but you can still reduce the likelihood of losses. 

And one more thing: do not make financial decisions based solely on emotions. The investment market bears little resemblance to scenes from films, where there is always panic on the stock exchange, and you need to buy or sell assets instantly, otherwise you will go broke. Every decision you make must be carefully weighed.

6. Investments will be stolen by scammers

There really are criminals in the investment industry. For example, scammers who offer to open a brokerage account on their platform. As a rule, they register a company that lures victims with aggressive advertising in instant messengers or social networks. Fraudsters may promise quick profits, which they allegedly provide through secret investment schemes. As a rule, at first they offer to deposit a very small amount and show a small income in the client’s fake personal account. Then, when the amount of funds entrusted to them grows, the scammers immediately curtail their activities and disappear with the clients’ money.

Here are a few signs that signal that not everything is clean with the organization.

• You are guaranteed profit. Investments are a risky area where money can be increased or lost. Advertising laws prohibit legitimate financial institutions from promising investment returns.
• They tell you about profitability that is several times higher than the market average. To lure clients away from banks and brokers, scammers offer huge interest rates. The Central Bank calls this one of the signs of financial pyramids.
• You are bombarded with aggressive advertising. She literally shouts: “Bring your money here,” promises you wealth - quick and simple.
• You are offered to transfer money to a card. This can be presented under the guise of a transfer to a company card, but in fact it will be an individual’s account. It will be impossible to prove that such a transfer was made for the purpose of investment; this is a clear sign of fraud.

If you are going to buy a ready-made investment portfolio, trust only proven and well-known agents. For example, large banks or investment brokers who have been working in this area for a long time. First of all, check on the website of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation whether the company has a license to operate in the securities market. Then study the broker’s website, read reviews on the Internet. And only then decide whether to trust him with your money.