
To be an effective investor, you need a stock market plan that guides your choice of investments, the way you buy stocks, how long you keep investments in your portfolio, and when you sell.
That’s called an investment strategy!
Without a stock market strategy, you’re likely to invest randomly — a stock here, a bond there — without a sense of how your investments can work together to achieve the return you want and without being able to control your risks.
What’s more, much of the long-term success of any investment portfolio depends on the way its assets are allocated, or distributed, among the range of investment choices.