How to Avoid 20 Common Investing Mistakes

We can all use reminders on how to steer clear of investing pitfalls and this list can help you check up on your habits. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [View this email in your browser]( We can all use reminders on how to steer clear of investing pitfalls and this list can help you check up on your habits. You can also check out which marijuana companies are actually profitable, listen to a podcast about fresh-IPO Slack, and more. — Katie Carrera, Stock Up Editor 20 Common Investing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them --------------------------------------------------------------- If you're starting out as an investor, it's easy to make mistakes out of exuberance, impatience, or even ignorance. And those mistakes can happen to experienced investors, too. They can all be costly, making them particularly important to guard against. - Investing before you're ready: This means mentally and financially; you should pay off your debt and have an emergency fund in place first. - Setting unrealistic expectations: Building wealth in the stock market takes time. Long-term time. Don't put money into stocks that you might need in the next five years, because the market can take years to recover from downturns. - Trusting the wrong people or sources: Anyone can recommend a stock, but you rarely know their track record and remember that even great investors make bad investments. So, it's worth spending time researching a company to back up your decision. - Buying into investments you don't understand: Investing in any company means you should have a good handle on how exactly it makes money, its competitive advantages, risks, financial standing, and its future prospects. - Paying too much in commissions: Aim to pay no more than about 2% of the value of your trade in commission fees to your brokerage. High fees can put a meaningful dent in your returns over time. [Read the rest.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Watch: How Big Should Your Emergency Fund Be? --------------------------------------------------------------- [FAQ: Fools Answer Questions How Big Should Your Emergency Fund Be?]( Life has a way of throwing unwanted (and often expensive) surprises at us. But how much money should you save to handle those costs? In this video, we're breaking down that question and more about emergency funds. --------------------------------------------------------------- Already subscribed to a premium service? [Click here]( to view your subscriptions. Not a member yet? [Click here]( to sign up! --------------------------------------------------------------- The 5 Most Profitable Pot Stocks Bigfoot. The Loch Ness monster. Profitable pot stocks. All three things are rumored to exist but are very hard to find. It's not impossible to find profitable pot stocks, though. While most cannabis-related companies remain unprofitable even when their sales are soaring, there are a handful of businesses in this industry that are generating solid earnings. This list is based on profit margin. - Innovative Industrial Properties ([NYSE:IIPR]( operates as a real estate investment trust (REIT) and focuses on leasing properties to the medical cannabis industry. With a profit margin of more than 51% they lead this list thanks to the long-term leases it has in place for its properties. That steady cash flow gives the company ample cash to reinvest into more properties to, you guessed it, lease out. - Constellation Brands ([NYSE:STZ]( the alcoholic beverage maker qualifies for this group with a 38% ownership stake in leading Canadian producer Canopy Growth ([NYSE:CGC](. The latter isn't profitable yet, but Constellation's profit margin tops 42% and the company hopes its push into cannabis will expand it even more. - Altria Group ([NYSE:MO]( is another company on this list because of an ownership stake — specifically 45% of Cronos Group ([NASDAQ:CRON]( — in a cannabis producer. The tobacco giant's profit margin still comes from that product but the company is working to diversify as the decline in cigarette smoking isn't likely to reverse. [Read the rest.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Smart Speaker] Not sure what to ask your smart speaker? Keep up with what's happening in the market by adding our daily flash briefing to your home assistant. Just look for The Motley Fool on your Amazon Alexa or Google Home app, click subscribe, and then you're good to go. --------------------------------------------------------------- FEATURED PODCAST --------------------------------------------------------------- [Industry Focus]( Tech: Slack Me Slack became the latest tech unicorn to go public. We're breaking down how the software-as-a-service communication company works and looking at its financials. [Subscribe on iTunes]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Boeing Receives a Vote of Confidence For the first time since its 737 MAX jets were grounded following a pair of fatal crashes, Boeing ([NYSE:BA]( this week received a new order for the troubled aircraft. It's an impressive turn of events for the company, which is still working to remedy the problems and get 737s back in service. At the Paris Air Show this week, British Airways parent International Airlines Group announced its intent to buy 200 737 MAX jets. Boeing also landed two orders for its popular 787 Dreamliner widebody family. An unexpected deal: IAG owns several European airlines spanning the full-service and low-cost segments. But one thing its carriers have in common is that they operate Airbus A320 family jets — they don't have any Boeing 737s in their current fleets. This made the company's decision to buy 737 MAX jets even more shocking. It would have been easy to stick with Airbus' upgraded A320neo family, both to simplify pilot training and to avoid customer unease about the Boeing 737 MAX. Is this a sure thing? Although the Boeing-IAG deal is just a letter of intent at this point, not a firm order. But IAG is a large, reputable company. As long as Boeing gets the 737 MAX back in the air later this year, there is little risk that this order will fall through. [Read the rest.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Easily track your favorite stocks with our new browser extension for Google Chrome. [Add it to Chrome by going here]( then open a new tab and use the "Manage Tickers" button to customize the page with your favorite stocks. --------------------------------------------------------------- Quick Reads - [These big drugmakers]( seem to be the most likely to make acquisitions after Pfizer's $11.4 billion deal for Array BioPharma. - [Hulu has "clarity"]( now that it's under Disney's control and plans to make a big bet for your streaming dollars with more original content. - Meanwhile, [Amazon is scaling up]( its own ad-supported streaming service, which could become a valuable part of its video ecosystem. - [Walmart's e-commerce strategy]( has been largely successful, except for its plans for Jet.com which the company is deemphasizing. --------------------------------------------------------------- Social Media Post of the Week --------------------------------------------------------------- [Twitter: Short-term thinking is the root of most of our problems, whether it's in business, politics, investing, work, or life.]( [See all our posts!]( Join the 1,300,000+ people who follow us! 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