Words by Karl Batungbacal and Denise Uy
Photos by Denise Uy
The last thing we expected when we walked into Inspire PH last April 28 in SMX Convention Center was to hear inspirational life advice in the guise of stock trading advice. The SMX Convention Center in Pasay City was jam-packed with people from all walks of life. There were those in their 40s, 20s, and even in their teens; all were present to learn a little something to help them make money in the stock market.
While we did learn a lot of useful information on how trading works, we personally didn’t expect to hear stories of failure and redemption interspersed with lots of stock terms like entry point, bull and bear markets, margins, and call option. It was a welcome surprise though as speakers told us how they failed many times over but eventually picked themselves back up and made something of themselves.
Hearing their stories, it became clearer that there were a lot of misconceptions about stocks that make it much harder for a lot of people to earn. In fact, it causes a lot of them to lose their hard-earned cash. Stocks and investing are usually presented as this magically fast way to get rich, but unlucky ones might lose everything. It is usually those who lack information or are misinformed, who find themselves in a financial hole and declaim that stocks trading is only for the rich.
Realizing that trading stocks isn’t as easy as just buying and selling is essential to actually earning any money in the stock market. Like most other livelihoods, stock trading is a skill and like all skills, it has to be developed and continuously practiced. Learning about stocks is something similar to taking up a class in school. It takes a lot of time just to master the basics and a lot of people who are sufficiently experienced in the market offer “classes” and seminars in order to encourage people to join the stock market and start trading.
Probably the most important thing that we were able to glean from the entire seminar was about learning how to manage your portfolio and finding the right timing to sell your shares. Especially when it comes to volatile accounts, better known as high-risk, high rewards accounts, like mining, those who are into stocks must be aware of the risks that accompany the potential rewards.
Overall, we had a blast learning how the stock market works and how it’s not some type of get-rich-quick scheme. It actually does take a lot of time for one person to understand how to make the best out of the stock market and people can also derive a lot of life lessons along the way.
Care to share any of your investment stories? Comment them below!
