This week, we chatted with Kiaan, an 8 year old investor, about how he chooses his investments. Kiaan’s father, Aadil, educates us on how he helps Kiaan navigate the stock market. Also, Kiaan drops some golden investment tips as he advises Dani on how she can begin her journey as an investor.
Kiaan shares that ever since he was 6, he has chosen a company to invest in on each of his birthdays. When asked about how he selects firms, he says he invests in companies that create products which he enjoys consuming. For those looking for their first investment opportunity, looking into companies that you like is a great place to start. Dani is new to investing and after hearing from Kiaan, she highlights that she is passionate about sustainability and keen on investing in vegan or sustainable clothing stocks. Similarly, Kiaan was keen on investing on Netflix as it was his favourite streaming service.
While being an active consumer of a company’s products is a good starting point, it is not reason enough to dive in and invest. There was a time when Kiaan wanted to purchase Microsoft stock however Aadil advised him to familiarise himself with more Microsoft products to generate a more informed opinion of the company and its products. Aadil stands by this and believes that it is important to be well acquainted with the company that you plan to invest in. Aadil also steps in and guides Kiaan using charts to visualise how well the company is doing relative to others. For example, when Kiaan decided whether to purchase Netflix, he saw that the company broke the charts and was doing a lot better than the competition, sealing the deal for him.
When investing, Kiaan enjoys applying the principle of buying low, selling high. When asked what he would do if the value of one of his stocks goes down, he shared that he would buy more. Aadil comments that this is a mentality that everyone should adopt. When a stock falls, 95% of investors typically panic and sell the stock, only to buy it again when the stock is performing well. Aadil remarks that this panic selling is what causes investors to lose money. Instead of being scared off, Aadil supports Kiaan’s opinion and recommends that investors should buy more of the stock when its value drops.
Lastly, Aadil and Kiaan share about their unique partnership when it comes to investing. While Aadil helps Kiaan make investment decisions, Kiaan also helps Aadil keep abreast of information regarding new tech companies. Kiaan is an avid gamer and mentions how he would like to use his profits from investing to purchase more games. When Kiaan discovers a new game and enjoys playing it, he introduces it to Aadil. Aadil then looks at the game from an investment perspective and proceeds to do research on the company behind the game. This goes to show that it is never too early to start investing and that the younger generation can contribute valuable information when it comes to investments.
