What is the gist for making money in short term investing? It can be boiled down to one sentence: “To sell umbrellas when it is raining, and lemonade when it is scorching!”
In other words, timings and seasons. Here are a few proven methods.
Watch business news to see what’s up
Product launches, big movements in manufacturing, cost changes, and partnerships and mergers between listed companies are some of the important stuff you can look out for. All these should affect your judgement on the stock’s current and future value. Of course, the key is to make buy/sell decisions before things are finalised.
April is tax season for US people
Stock prices invariably go down a bit in April. Why? A portion of US investors sell their stock during the April tax season to pay off their income tax. This is a good time to get good stocks at a slight discount.
Buy or sell immediately following Quarterly reports
Seasoned investors know that the market overreacts. When a good company miss their earnings forecast by just a few cents, it can cause their stock to go down as low as 10-20%. The converse is true; a stock may be overvalued after earning reports, and it might be a good time to take some profits. Take advantage of the market’s whims and exaggerated reactions to make some short term winnings, all 4 times a year!
Buy during threats of war, sell during talks of peace
The recent tariff and truce ping-pong match between US and China is a good example of this principle. The market plummeted on news of the tariff war, allowing investors to buy at massive discounts. Price eased near normal levels during the tariffs truce. This was a good time to make some money, and I hope you had taken advantage of that.
If you are new to investing, however, the best kind is still long-term investment. A professional investment advisor could get you sorted out, and make it automated, so you don’t have to worry about watching the market. If you don’t know anyone who is good at this stuff, and would like to have a MAS-approved advisor, write to us at secondtimesgp@gmail.com
