For every anecdotal story about someone striking it rich on the stock market, there is an opposing story about someone losing their shirt in the market. You have to be able to differentiate between profit-making stocks and those that end up losing you money. Your odds of success can be drastically increased by doing research and applying the great advice from the above article.

A long-term plan is wise if you want to make a lot of money from a stock market investment. There is a certain amount of inevitable unpredictability to the stock market, so a reasonable plan with realistic goals will keep you focused. Hold your stocks as long as you can to make profits.

It is vitally important that you confirm the reliability of any investment broker before you consider handing over your hard-earned money to them. There are free resources available to help you perform this confirmation quickly and easily. Investigating an investment broker’s background is the best way to protect yourself from investment fraud.

Use your voting rights if you own some common stocks. Depending on the rules of each company, you might have the right to vote when directors are elected or major changes are being made. Voting takes place at the annual meeting for shareholders or via proxy voting, either through mail or email.

Be sure you invest over an array of different stocks. Avoid placing all of your eggs into one basket, like the familiar saying goes. Don’t put all of your investments in one share, in case it doesn’t succeed.

Set your sights on stocks that produce more than the historical 10% average, which an index fund can just as easily supply. If you want to estimate your likely return from an individual stock, find the projected earnings growth rate and the dividend yield and add them. If your stock’s yield is projected to grow 2% with 12% projected growth in earnings, you hve a chance to earn a 14% overall return.

Never invest too much of your capital fund in one stock. This will greatly reduce the likelihood of your equity being totally wiped out in the case of a rapid stock decline.

As stated in the above article, lots of people have been very successful at investing in the stock market, but lots of people have lost a great deal, too. This happens quite frequently. Although luck may sometimes be an active participant in investment success or failure, having a good grasp on the market will unquestionably work in your favor. Utilize the tips from the article to aid you in making good investment decisions that will hopefully pay off in the end.