While most people know someone who has become rich by investing in the stock market, most people also know someone who has been made bankrupt by the stock market. It is important to be aware of wise investments and those that will have everyone earning money but you. If you do some research and follow the advice you just read, you’re more likely to be a stock market success story.

Before going to a broker, you should do some background research to make sure you can trust them with your money. Investigating an investment broker’s background is the best way to protect yourself from investment fraud.

A long term plan should be created for maximum success. You are likely to achieve even greater success if you keep your expectations modest instead of banking on things you cannot predict. Keep stocks in your portfolio for whatever period is necessary to generate profits.

Before signing up with brokers or placing investments through traders, find out the fees you must pay. You want to look into both entry and deduction fees. These may add up quickly over time.

When targeting maximum yield portfolios, include the best stocks from various industries. Not every sector will do well in any given year. By having positions along many sectors, you can profit from growth in hot industries, which will expand your overall portfolio. By re-balancing your portfolio, you lessen your losses in smaller sectors while taking positions in them during their next growth cycle.

A good goal for your stocks to achieve is a minimum of a 10 percent return on an annual basis, because any lower, you might as well just invest in an index fund for the same results. 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. Any stock yielding 3% with 10% earning growth is going to provide you a 13% overall return.

Stick to areas that you know best and stay inside it. If you make your own investment decisions, it is wisest to stick with companies you are familiar with. You might have a gut feel about a business that manufactures your favorite personal grooming products or food items, but can you really trust your gut regarding businesses that build oil rigs, if you know nothing about them? A professional advisor is better suited to these decisions.

Again, there are plenty of people who get rich from the stock market and plenty who have lost everything they own. This type of thing tends to happen a lot. While there is certainly an element of luck involved in investing; education, skill, and knowledge can take you a long way toward seeing success. Take the advice in this piece to heart in order to invest in a way that is likely to generate real profits.

There are tremendous opportunities for small businesses and social entrepreneurs to support their communities through community foundations, donor advised funds and other means of giving back. Find the neighborhoods in Erie, Pennsylvania where you can make the most impact on arts in the community.