Factors involved in investment decision

The motive behind our investments is to make money and increase our monetary wealth. With so many factors involved, investment decision becomes a complex one. Small investors often go with their gut feelings when trying to choose among numerous investment alternatives. Big investors use various analyzing techniques. Globalization and the growth of internet have introduced many new opportunities and threats to ponder upon. When investing, you must remember that you are committing your assets for sometime, that is why you need to cover all aspects before making an investment decision.

Expected Return:
The most basic investment decisions revolve around the comparison of expected return and risk involved. No investor will take on higher risk if there is no chance of equally higher returns. Investors strive to reach on the best trade-off point between risk and return which go well with their financial requirements. These expected returns are not always equal to what an investor actually gets after some time. The possibility that actual return will not be the same what they expect is called risk.

Risk Factor:
There is hardly some form of investment which doesn't involve risk. Government securities come close to be called risk free; but even they have some risks attached to them. Risk actually is the balancing factor of the financial markets. Various types of investment risk exist, such as financial risk, currency risk, inflation risk or capital risk are the most common one. Different investors react differently to these risks. While majority of the investors are risk averse, there are some investors who are seeking more risky ones with expectations of higher yields.

Investor’s Hunch:
Every investor will finish off with a different conclusion although the market, economy and all statistical facts and figures are same for everyone. This difference comes from the investor’s intuition. Even the deciding process is different, some start from research; collecting lots of information and then analyzing to decide, others start from defining their objectives and then going for the options that suit their needs.

Globalization Factor:
Investors have slowly started to realize the advantages of international investments. Some emerging markets present better returns while other stable markets provide lesser risks. Investors have often conquered risk by diversification, and an international market provides more opportunities to achieve portfolio diversification as compared to a local market. Ignoring global markets for investment is turning your back on a whole new world of opportunities.