Bourse-comment investir dans ses premières actions EN-GB

The ideal is to enter the market progressively, without suddenly placing all of your savings. UNSPLASH

The year 2022 is marked by high price volatility, between the war in Ukraine, health lockdowns in China, fears of recession, galloping inflation and monetary tightening by central banks to try to stem the rise in prices. Enough to dissuade the less adventurous from investing in the stock market. While equities remain a risky investment, simple rules can reduce your exposure to risk and let you invest more serenely.

To begin with, it is important not to buy just any stock, nor to engage in complex transactions, for example by subscribing to derivatives. "For your debut on the stock market, you always have to try to do simple things that you understand," says Stéphane Van Huffel, managing director of the wealth management consulting site Netinvestissement. He mentions in particular the emergence of trading platforms open to the general public that can encourage some investors, looking for profit, to take risks disproportionate to their level of knowledge of the market.

Taking different entry points

Stéphane Van Huffel advises instead "to invest in a reasoned way". The investor should not get carried away by his/her emotions and sell everything when prices start to fall, nor buy all over the place as soon as they go up. It is also when the markets have already plunged and prices are low that cheap purchases can be made, shares having lost much of their value. When prices rise, capital gains can then be realized.

"The investor can invest on a regular basis, taking different entry points," says Stéphane Van Huffel. He recommends gradually investing your savings and not betting all your money at once. If you have 5,000 euros to invest, for example, you can spread your payments over a quarter. Gradually investing your money is a way to limit the effects of volatility on your investment and "smooth" market fluctuations. It is also a way not to risk investing all your money at the worst time, just before a crash and a sharp fall in prices.

Diversifying your investment

In the stock market, it is also essential to "not put all your eggs in one basket". This expression means that it is imperative to diversify your investment, not by betting your money in a single company or a very limited number of securities, but rather by integrating multiple stocks into your portfolio.

Diversification is carried out by varying the industries, from health to aeronautics, through energy, the agri-food industry, financial companies (banks, insurance, real estate ...), automotive or tech and telecoms. If a particular industry is experiencing setbacks on the stock market, others may at the same time show better performance.

You can also diversify geographically, investing in companies from various territories and listed on different stock exchanges, from Paris to New York, via Frankfurt, London, Milan and others.

Finally, it is advisable to vary the sizes of companies and not to invest only in the largest capitalizations, such as LVMH, Hermès, TotalEnergies and Sanofi within the CAC 40 index; but also to invest in more modest companies, mid caps and small caps, such as Neoen, Vallourec and Genfit. "Invest primarily in companies that speak to you, whose activity you understand," recommends Stéphane Van Huffel of Netinvestissement.

Choosing the right investment allocation

Finally, you must choose the right envelope to buy your shares, according to your profile, your projects and your desires. A securities account will allow you to invest in a wide variety of securities, in bonds in addition to shares and investment funds. All on different territories and continents (Europe, United States, Asia...).

The equity savings plan will allow you to benefit from an income tax exemption after five years of holding your investment. But your gains (capital gains and dividends) will be exempt provided you do not make any withdrawals during these five years. And the diversity of eligible securities will be more limited, including investments in European equities.

Finally, the units of account (UA) of multi-media life insurance contracts make it possible to invest in multiple equity funds and sometimes directly in shares of companies. In addition, you can also invest your money in bond funds and part of your money in a euro fund with guaranteed capital, to limit the risk of losses. After eight years of holding your contract, you will benefit from advantageous taxation and an annual deduction of 4,600 euros on your earnings.

In any case, it is recommended to invest in the stock market for the long term. In the short term, from one year to the next, you can easily record losses, when over 5, 10, or more years, your chances of gains will be higher as equity markets tend to rise over the long term.