Anyone who wants to diversify their income sources from just what they earn from running their business has a multitude of options. When you discuss what your options are with financial planners, one option will be investment panning and in particular, buying and selling stocks and shares. Many a fortune has been made from this form of investing, however, it also has to be pointed out that fortunes have also been lost on the stock market.

The reason is not necessarily that stocks and shares are poor investments although induvial shares often are. And, apart from the stock market crashes that happen every few decades, the overall trend of share prices is primarily an upward one. Where fortunes, or more to the point, large personal investments, have been lost is more usually due to an investor making some fundamental share investment mistakes.

If you are thinking of investing in shares we hope you have the good sense to employ the services of a financial planner who can advise on the best investment planning tactics related to shares. Nevertheless, it will do you no harm to know them now and be aware of some of the more common mistakes share investors make, so read on and you will discover ten of them

Mistake #1 – Investing Without Advice: Probably the biggest mistake you can make is to try and invest in shares without first seeking advice and guidance from experienced financial or investment planners.

Mistake #2 – Choosing The Wrong Financial Advisors: This is also a caveat to the previous point in that you should ensure that the financial planners you listen to for advice are professional, are accredited, and have a proven track record.

Mistake #3 – Having Unrealistic Expectations: Despite what some movies might depict, you are highly unlikely to double your money overnight. You may not even double your money in two years. Share investments grow steadily so be realistic about your returns.

Mistake #4 – Not Diversifying Your Share Investment Portfolio: Having all your eggs in one basket is a strategy that carries huge risks, and it also limits your ROI. You want to have a diverse share portfolio in multiple sectors and across multiple companies.

Mistake #5 – Letting Small Share Price Changes Influence Your Decisions: First-time investors often get spooked when they share price move and overreact, even though the movement was a small one Share prices can change multiple times every day so do not make decisions based on short term fluctuations.

Mistake #6 – Making Decisions Using Emotions Rather Than Logic: Your heart must not rule your head when it comes to share investments. You might love a company for whatever reason, but that is no justification for buying shares in it. The only justification is the company’s share price performance.

Mistake #7 – Assuming Future Performance Will Replicate The Past: It would be great to have a time machine and go forward a week to see future share prices, but sadly we cannot. You also should not assume that future share prices will mirror the past. Just because a share’s price rose 25% last December does not mean it will behave the same way this December.

Mistake #8 – Not Following A Buying Or Selling Strategy: Your financial planner will outline a share investment strategy for you, and it is this strategy which you should follow at all times. Deviating from it and making random purchases and sales is a recipe for huge losses.

Mistake #9 – Not Monitoring Your Shares’ Performances: Presumably you consider all the metrics related to your business’s performance and make decisions based on them. That same principle applies to your share portfolio meaning you should monitor it so that you can react and make decisions when necessary.

Mistake #10 – Waiting Too Long To Sell Bad Stock: If you have stock that is trending down and showing no signs of recovering do not be stubborn or use wishful thinking to justify holding onto the shares in the hope they will recover. Dump them before more losses accumulate…there are plenty of other shares out there.