Stock trading: Start small to succeed

CEBU, Philippines - Becoming wealthy has always been his dream in life just like most people out there.

There are probably a lot of ways on how people can become rich, but the stock market became the key for Cebuano stock trader Marco Nino Velasco to realize his financial goals.

"Anything that will enable me to make money is always interesting to me. I joined several MLM (multi-level marketing) companies, invested money in some of my friends. Most of it didn't turn out well," Velasco shared to The FREEMAN.

Not until he knew about the stock market way back in 2010 and he claimed he got hooked by how it works.

"There was this potential of earning money with minimal work. It was money making money for money. That was one of the major turning points in my life because eventually, trading stocks has not just become a source of income for me, it has become a passion of mine," shared Velasco, 33, who now manages his own investment consultancy firm.

Prior to that, Velasco, an Electronics and Communications Engineering graduate worked as business development officer for Unicapital Securities, a stock brokerage firm in the Philippines. Before joining the stock brokerage industry, he also used to work for an engineering firm, became an insurance agent as well as for mutual funds.

Just like any typical Filipino, he also had his share of financial setbacks then but he was blessed to have very supportive parents who were always there to help him in times of problems.

Trading journey

His trading journey in the stock market, however, was not smooth sailing.

His biggest setback was to lose roughly 40 percent of his money because he made a mistake.

"I started with P25 thousand and a few months after I added P100 thousand. That was one of my biggest mistakes — I would call it a newbie mistake," he said.  

"In starting investing or trading in the stock market, always start small. Just test the waters first and try to see if it's for you. If you lose, at least you lose small. Losing 40% is less damaging for a P10 thousand investment than a P100 thousand investment," the trader noted.

Velasco recalled he was losing for the first two to three years in trading before he finally decided to dedicate himself into learning what stock market trading was all about.

"While I was learning, my trading performance was improving gradually until I reached a point of earning consistently," he said. "Right now, I was able to grow my money more than ten-fold after I decided to learn about trading. I'm a short term trader and I don't hold on to stocks for a long period of time,"

In the stock market, traders are those who put their money for short-term while investors allow their money grow in the market for the long-term.

Unfortunately, stock market trading is not for everyone.

Velasco advised newbies to attend lectures and seminars first and try to understand what they are possibly getting into.

"If you decide to start, start small. If you have at least a million worth of savings, start with only P20 thousand or maybe P50 thousand max. This is for you to 'practice'. At least you still have the bulk left once you feel confident already. And find a mentor, grab a book, use the internet wisely. There are a lot of information in the internet these days. Make great use of them," he further advised those looking to invest in the stock market.

Investing in shares of stocks or equities is one of the best ways to increase one's wealth than just parking the hard-earned money in savings account or time deposit.

It allows investors to become shareholders of some of the biggest listed corporations in the Philippines.

Stocks can grow in value, providing investors with returns that may be higher than what they can get from investing in savings or the money market.

However, stock investing also comes with a measure of risk that's why prospective investors are always advised to learn everything about it first before they start investing. 

Velasco, in fact, started there. And now he's managing his own investment consultancy already.

"It has always been a dream of mine to have a business of my own. I feel I'm in a very ideal situation right now because I got to do business on something that I love to do which is trading. Apart from that, I also see the huge demand and potential for investment consultancy," he said. (FREEMAN)