What Does It Mean to be an Investor

I love investing. I started investing in my early twenties before I knew a ton about the markets.

As I learned more and became an investment professional, my investment knowledge and expertise grew. I saw more than a few downturns and recessions and booms hitting the markets and all through these years I saw my investments grow and my financial security increase.

So, as a financial professional and as a planner, I encourage everyone to invest.

Unfortunately, what I often see is a misunderstanding and lack of confidence in investing.

A lot of times people will say, well, I'm just gambling, I'm just playing with money.

Investing, however, is very far from gambling or playing with money. In my view, investing is our opportunity to participate in human progress.

What happens in the stock market, people with ideas meet people with capital and they collaborate to bring these ideas to life. These ideas advance human condition, human experience, they create products and services that help us in life and help the world in general.

Anytime you look at a company, it starts in somebody's basement, then the founder runs out of money and goes out looking for capital. Once they run out of family and friends to talk to, they turn to angel investors and eventually they get to the stock market.

The stock market in essence is a big, public marketplace for capital. Here, a company can get  the money that they need to invest in their products and services, increase their revenue, increase their profits and return money to people who have trusted them with their capital and have invested in the company's success.

When you look at the market, you need to look at companies that you think and believe are doing good and will do well. The aspect of gambling refers just to the fact that there is volatility.  

It's like when you're flying an airplane, there is turbulence, but it doesn't mean that you gamble every time you get on the airplane. You get to your destination safely, almost a hundred percent of your time.

And it’s the same with investing.

If you have the right attitude, approach, and patience and you follow a long-term investing philosophy and approach, with your goals specifically defined, investing is extremely rewarding.

I encourage you to stay with it through thick and thin and see fantastic results.