Twelve tips for better stock market decisions

Munich, Frankfurt Despite all the negative factors, the stock market had the best start to the year in decades. Recently, however, the upward movement has lost momentum. Many investors are therefore wondering whether now is the right time to get involved. Or is a correction imminent and things are going down again?

But that’s asking the wrong question, says Martin Weber, senior professor at the University of Mannheim. No market participant always manages to time their investments correctly, he explains: “If someone knew when the best time to get in and out was, that person would be very, very rich.”

According to Weber, one of the German representatives of behavioral financial market analysis, completely different competencies are decisive for making smart decisions on the stock exchange. The Handelsblatt spoke to him and two other stock market psychologists about investment strategies for private investors. The result was twelve tips – some are of a general nature, some are aimed at short-term investors, others at long-term investors.