If you are a movie fan, you will probably know that the movie “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once” has been nominated for an Oscar in 11 categories at the time of writing.
The science-fiction movie, which features multiple universes, had already netted Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh and Vietnamese actor Ke Huy Quan their first-ever Golden Globes.
The title may strike a chord with many investors.
With the multitude of investment choices out there — YES, it can feel as though you need to know everything, invest everywhere and do all these “all at once”.
A constant barrage of information
Financial media can be like the incessant buzz of a fly near your ear.
The constant drone of newscasters, along with the endless headlines popping up, can make it feel like it is so much you need to know.
Investment pundits constantly tell us that there is more that we need to know, and the digital world is filled with too much information for the human brain to absorb.
Meanwhile, the investment universe has also exploded with a myriad of investments ranging from equities and bonds to cryptocurrencies, options, and derivatives.
The choices can feel endless and leave you in a tizzy as to where to deploy your money.
Finally, professional investors are always droning on about putting your money to work NOW, as though time is really of the essence and you cannot afford to leave your money idle.
Finding your inner compass
It is understandable if you feel bombarded.
But this is a good time to step back and take stock of how you should react and what you should do.
For starters, you need not know “everything”, but should instead focus on what you are good at based on your investment objectives.
If you are trying to grow your portfolio’s size to ensure you have sufficient money for retirement, then you can gun for growth stocks such as Mercadolibre (NASDAQ: MELI), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) or Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGLE).
But if you are more of an income investor, then dividend stocks and REITs such as VICOM Limited (SGX: WJP) and Frasers Centrepoint Trust (SGX: J69U) should be your main focus.
Or if you desire a little of both, your portfolio can contain stocks that offer a healthy mix of growth plus dividends.
Stocks such as Nike (NYSE: NKE), iFAST Corporation (SGX: AIY) and Tractor Supply (NASDAQ: TSCO) offer that sweet combination of dividends and business growth.
By narrowing down what you wish to invest in, there’s no need to invest ”everywhere”.
Instead, you can filter out the bulk of the investment universe and simply choose the stocks that can fulfil your investment objectives.
Best of all, you need not rush around in a flurry trying to decide where to park your money.
Investing is, after all, a marathon rather than a sprint.
By constantly deploying money into the market and reinvesting your dividends, you can achieve healthy compounding and grow your investment portfolio into a sizable sum.
Get Smart: Flipping the script
After all that’s said and done, you now know that you need not follow the script of trying to do “everything, everywhere and all at once”.
Rather, you should flip the title over to read “your stocks, your universe and at your own time”.
Focus on your investment goals (hence, your stocks) while staying within your universe of competence and staying true to your investment style.
Having the time to analyse and review your financial circumstances can also help you to make better investment decisions.
Your altered movie title may not snag an Oscar anytime soon, but at least you will enjoy a healthy and growing investment portfolio.
Our team has spent decades scouring SGX for stocks. And we think dividends could be the answer to rising inflation and market uncertainty in 2023. With our newest FREE report, you’ll have everything you need to find, keep and make more money from dividend stocks. Click here to download it for free.
Follow us on Facebook and Telegram for the latest investing news and analyses!
Disclosure: Royston Yang owns shares of Meta Platforms, Alphabet, VICOM, Nike and iFAST.
