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Ten Part Guide to Beat the Market

By , About.com Guide

10 of 10

Know What Risk You Are Trying to Avoid

Imagine the following scenario: You have $100,000 in capital. You decide to invest $20,000 of it in a bank that is trading at only 10x earnings with a 4.5% cash dividend yield in a world of 2.5% inflation and the company looks to have great growth potential with a healthy mix of fee and interest income. The next day, the markets crash and your position loses 20% of its value. How do you feel?

The answer should be easy: Ecstatic. Many investors, academics, and market pundits confuse real risk (such as liquidity risk, bankruptcy risk, permanent capital impairment risk, etc.) with volatility. Unless you need to sell quickly (in which case you should not have owned stocks at all!), lower prices means nothing more than the opportunity to augment your holdings in some of your favorite companies at attractive earnings yields.

For a more in-depth discussion, read The 3 Types of Investment Risks and Risk Management: 6 Warning Signs That a Company May Be Headed for Trouble.

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