The stock market is a great way of storing wealth in an exciting and customizable manner. Investors can handpick companies that they believe in and without ever having to work for that company themselves, their wealth can grow. One may choose to spend $10 on McDonald’s stock instead of a McDonald’s burger, and earn a profit as the company expands. At High Tide, we regularly discuss our individual stock market portfolios and share useful information in search of new and exciting companies.

The two main negatives that discourage beginners from investing in the stock market is the work and the volatility. Most people struggle to find the time to look through a company’s balance sheet and analyse its growth potential. Furthermore, an exciting company isn’t investible if its share price is known to move by more than 10% in a single trading day. To overcome these hurdles, new investors can leave all the hard work with asset management firms and simply chose an industry to invest in. An exchange traded fund (ETF) allows investors to purchase a group of stocks in the exact same way they would buy a single stock.