How to Make Money in Stocks

Investing in stocks is one of the best steps you can take toward building wealth. To make money in the stock market, you need to give your investments time to compound interest and appreciate in value, as well as make sure to diversify your holdings and invest on a regular cadence.

HOW CAN YOU MAKE MONEY IN STOCKS?

The way the stock market works — and works for you — is as simple as a high school economics class. It’s all about supply and demand, and the way those factors affect value. Investors purchase market assets like stocks (shares of companies), which increase in value when the company does well. As the company in question makes financial progress, more investors want a piece of the action, and they’re willing to pay more for an individual share.

That means that the share you paid for has now increased in price, thanks to higher demand — which in turn means you can earn something when it comes time to sell it. (Of course, it’s also possible for stocks and other market holdings to decrease in value, which is why there’s no such thing as a risk-free investment.) Historically, the average rate or return for the stock market has hovered around 10%.

Along with the profit you can make by selling stocks, you can also earn shareholder dividends, or portions of the company’s earnings. Cash dividends are usually paid on a quarterly basis, but you might also earn dividends in the form of additional shares of stock.