Kavee Chukitkasem – Gain Knowledge Before You Start Investing

Kavee Chukitkasem is the Deputy Managing Director of Kasikorn Securities and completed his Master of Finance from The University of Toledo, Ohio. Kavee is also a TEDx speaker and is the author of a popular investing book on how to identify great stocks and how to sow the seeds for sustainable long-term results (original title:เพาะหุ้นเป็น เห็นผลยั่งยืน).   “It doesn’t matter if you give your money to a fund manager; you still have to know about investing.” Kavee Chukitkasem   Worst investment ever Kavee’s worst investment to date happened during the first year of his career. He had just received his first bonus, and all he wanted to do with the money was to invest it. While it wasn’t so much money, Kavee was excited to be able to enter the investment world. At the time, Thailand’s stock index was at 1,700 points, almost the highest it has ever been. A bubble near to burst Around the same time, the Tom Yum Goong Crisis (the Thai name for the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, and also a delicious soup with prawns) was building up in Thailand. Even though the signs were all over, nobody saw the crisis coming. Someone advised Kavee that this was the best time to invest, and he blindly believed him. Even though he was a finance graduate already working as a financial analyst, he put his trust in someone else. He never thought of researching the company he was putting his hard-earned bonus into. All Kavee knew was that he was buying at a high and was convinced the stock would keep going up. He never saw that burst coming Kavee bought stocks at 300 Baht each, but thanks to the Asian Financial Crisis the shares fell to a whopping low of 20 Baht in just three months. Kavee was utterly disappointed in himself because, as an analyst, he should have known better than to invest in a company he knew nothing about. Lessons learned What kind of investor are you? The first thing you need to do before you start investing is to know the kind of investor you want to be. What is your long-term investment goal? Before you start investing learn how it works Whether you’re interested in a long or short investment, you have to know how investing works. You don’t need to understand finance deeply but learn the basics and understand the market. Even if you choose to work with a fund manager, you still have to know about investing. Don’t expect to be an overnight millionaire Investing money for beginners can be exciting. Don’t get too excited and expect a hundred percent return in one year, that hardly ever happens. Give your portfolio time to grow. Don’t follow every investing advice you get There’s always someone out there wanting to force tips on investing for beginners down your throat. You don’t have to follow every piece of advice. Just listen and take into account