Importance of patience & investment horizon when investing

When it comes to investment, you will hear several finance terminologies that help select the best stock or mutual fund. And while those financial metrics can help, we need to pay attention to an essential element: patience.

Patience is key to successful investing over the long term. Patience involves taking a longer-term view of investment decisions and resisting the urge to react quickly. Successful investors are those who tend to wait and watch, analyze markets and trends over time before making a decision. Investors can achieve greater success and financial stability in the long run by being patient.

Here's a short story that can help you understand the power of being patient with investments.

Ronald Read, a janitor, made news in 2016 when people came to know that he had accumulated an $8 million fortune. The secret of his fortune was not the lottery but investments in blue-chip stocks and staying invested for several decades. He passed away in 2014 at the age of 92.

However, being patient doesn't mean that you never withdraw your investments. It means being patient and staying invested for the required period. And, to be patient with investments, it is essential to know your investment horizon.

An investment horizon is the length of time you plan to hold an investment before deciding to sell it or move on. The investment horizon will depend on several things, such as the timeline of financial goals, age and risk tolerance.
Importance of Investment Horizons
You need to set investment horizons to plan your financial goals better. For example, if you are 30 years old and are planning to build a retirement kitty, your investment horizon is almost 30 years. In this case, an equity-heavy portfolio might be better, as retirement is your long-term financial goal. However, the same cannot be said of someone who is 55 years old.

Additionally, establishing an investment horizon helps to reduce the frequency of trading decisions, thereby saving you from making mistakes due to emotion rather than reason. A well-thought-out investment horizon ensures you have realistic goals and expectations based on your timeline.

There's no guaranteed formula for successful investments. But a few correct behavioral traits will make the wealth creation journey smoother. One such trait is defining and sticking to your investment horizon. When determining your time frame for investing, you also need to consider how comfortable you are with the risk element associated with a particular investment. Knowing your risk tolerance and investing in line with your risk tolerance automatically will aid you in being patient and stay invested for the required period.

Maintaining patience amidst market volatility
Here are some pointers that will help navigate volatile times with ease during your investment journey:

• Focus on what you can control
• Establish realistic expectations from your investments made. This can be done by researching past investment performance of your investment choice and knowing what factors could potentially impact its success.
• Instead of obsessing over short-term results, view your portfolio as a long-term strategy.
• Reviewing your financial plan once a year will help ensure your portfolio is on track to meet your financial needs. If not, make necessary changes.
• When the stock market takes a downturn, staying the course and not panicking is the rule of the equity investing game. But it is easier said than done. Make peace with the fact that markets will remain volatile whether you like it or not. Invest in strategies like balanced advantage which capitalized on market volatility.
• Checking the stock price or the NAV of an invested fund everyday will only be a source of stress and not a stress buster.
• Seek financial advice from professionals and implement the recommendations you receive.
• Diversify your portfolio across various asset classes (equity, debt, gold, silver etc.) This way, even if one asset class underperforms, the gains from other asset classes will help balance the aggregate portfolio.

Conclusion
When investing, three things are essential -- patience, having a diversified portfolio, and being clear of your financial requirement timeframes. Take the time and effort to choose an investment strategy that works for you, one that considers your goals, financial situation, and even attitude towards risk.
Disclaimer : This article is authored by Abhijit Haribhau Bongirwar,Director,Growfinn Wealth Pvt Ltd. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Business Insider India. Do your own research (DYOR) before deciding to invest in any financial asset class.