Top 6 Equity Investment Myths That You Must Overcome

In a way, investing myths are perpetuated over the years; partly by history and partly by your conditioning. There are some popular myths that almost all traders and investors appear to be victims of. Let us look at 6 such popular myths about investing that need to be debunked.

Myth 1: In long term investing, returns matter more than risk

Back in 2007, Nokia was a world leader in mobile phones and Forbes had even featured Nokia in a cover story calling them “invincible”. The same year, Apple launched its i-Phone and was followed by Samsung’s smart phone. In less than 4 years, Nokia was on the verge of bankruptcy. Imagine what would have happened to an investor who had ignored risk while investing in Nokia. The reality is that more investors made money in the equity markets by focusing on risk than purely on returns. Once you are able to measure and control risks, the returns will automatically follow. You invest with finite capital and that is why risk matters.

Myth 2: Equity investing is more risky than debt; so stick to bonds

This statement is technically correct because as an asset class equities are riskier than bonds. But there is a time definition that comes in here. In the short to medium term equities are definitely riskier than bonds because returns on equity can fluctuate. But let us talk about the longer term. In the long term both equity and debt carry risk. Look at the number of bond issuers who have defaulted in the last 1 year and you will understand the risk in debt. Secondly, when you are looking to create wealth in the long haul only equity investing can get you to your goals. In the long run, the risk of not taking any risk is much more for your portfolio. That is why equities automatically become low risk over the long term. Of course, you need to stick to quality equity stocks in this case.

Myth 3: I am a long term investor so charts are not for me

There is a general myth that fundamentals are for long term and technicals are for the short term. While that could be intuitively correct, it risks missing the wood for the trees. Charts are the key to any long term investor because it gives two very important signals. Firstly, even if you have identified a fundamentally strong stock, the timing of entry does make a difference to your returns and charts can help here. Also, charts can identify breakouts, which can be useful for long term investors.

Myth 4: Large caps are a better bet than mid caps

That is not necessarily true because some of the large caps of today were mid caps a few years back. There are examples like Lupin, Sun Pharma and Bajaj Finance. You can actually make big profits in equities if you identify a quality stock when it is still a small cap or a mid cap. Once it becomes a large cap there are scores of analysts and fund managers chasing the stock and it becomes overcrowded. Also, mid-caps create wealth because of more focused business models and lower levels of debt.

Myth 5: A great company can be bought at any price

That is not correct. A great company can be awesome at a certain price but can be expensive at a higher price. If you had bought L&T in 2011 or SBI in 2010 it would have taken you ages to recover your price. Both are outstanding companies! However good the company, if you are looking for stock market outperformance then the price of entry matters! That is why investing requires that you keep looking out for bargain sales in the stock market. Investors who bought quality stocks in 2009 or 2013 would have surely done a lot better than the others.

Myth 6: Investing is all about complex black box strategies

Black box strategies can give you better execution. You make big money by identifying a stock with great potential and holding on for a long time. Legendary investor Peter Lynch used to say, “A great idea should be so simple that you should be able to illustrate it with a piece of chalk”. Take Eicher Motors in 2009. A growing market, hardly crowded, low capital requirement and a high ROE was a classic combination to create wealth. That is how simple it is! Just keep your eyes and ears open.

Before you start investing, try to drive these myths out of your mind. It will make investing a lot simpler!