We realize there’s a certain audacity to the idea that one can invest 100 dollars and earn 10 times that every day. It sounds unbelievable.
Don’t get us wrong. It’s not easy. The more you want to earn, the more risk you have to take. And the investment market is already full of risk as it is. To be honest, it’s almost outright dangerous to even suggest that tenfold gains are even possible.
Yet we maintain that it is — with several caveats.
First of all, it probably isn’t something that you can do overnight. The shrewdest investors have spent years perfecting their expertise. They’ve developed strong behavioral habits. They’ve paid close attention to every detail (sometimes at the exclusion of all other matters). And they’ve undoubtedly suffered some losses.
But they’ve kept at it. They’ve learned through experience. They’ve developed shortcuts to get the information they need. They’ve learned how to make disciplined, thoughtful decisions. They don’t let a bad day overwhelm their feelings and force them into bad choices. They know how to ride the crests of every bull and bear market.
So it’s at least possible. Still, we have to underscore how hard it is. Before we offer suggestions on how to find the best way to invest 100 dollars, we recommend you build up some personal skills and habits first.
Habits to Build
We believe that great investors are made, not born. Most profitable investors bear a similar set of traits that they’ve built over time. Here are some of the best habits to work on.
Time Management
Two things govern the stock market: Money and time. The money part should be fairly obvious. The time part may take some getting used to.
Investors make sizable profits from timing their transactions perfectly. They pay extremely close attention to market micro-movements over fractions of an hour. Whether they trade during business hours or after markets are closed, they must build a razor-sharp sense of schedule. Every part of their investment adventure is informed by some sort of routine.
Some people can’t stand routine in any part of their lives. This kind of investment strategy, frankly, probably isn’t for them. But if you’re okay with doing what it takes to manage your time, incorporate that skill immediately. You’re going to be putting long hours into the process at the outset. When you’ve made your fortune, you can take a nap then!
Information Retrieval
What you learn about the stock market depends on where you get your information. When you investigate how to invest $100 for gigantic returns, choosing your information sources will become much more crucial.
You’ll find hundreds of stock market resources in the media and online. It’s important to use the ones that emphasize information over hype. For efforts as ambitious as making 10 times your initial investment, you might have to focus on information that’s off the beaten path.
Some of our favorite news sources include:
If you decide to specialize in a certain form of trading — forex, ETFs, cryptocurrency, and so forth — you’ll find many sources devoted to that trading strategy. Look for ones that deal in real-time data and level-headed reporting.
Strengthen Your Risk Tolerance
You’re headed into an area that’s fraught with risk. And it’s much higher than the risk that casual retail investors face.
Many unsuccessful traders misjudge their ability to handle the ebb and flow of the stock market. They can’t tolerate the high numbers very easily. This often happens because they’ve overestimated their mettle for high-risk action. Or they’ve underestimated how active and dangerous their endeavors were.
We’re not saying this to scare you off. We’re just saying this is a serious shot for big profits. It’s not a lateral move. If you decide to get involved, you’ll have to increase the amount of risk you’ll be able to handle without losing your mind.
Be realistic. Do some introspection. This is the only part of the trading game that should be dictated by your emotions. You need to be emotionally prepared to deal with high risk because once it starts, emotions are tossed out the window. Toughen yourself up.
Make a Plan
Every single investor benefits from setting up a strategy in advance. This plan takes your investment goals, daily schedule, targeted commodities, and long-term outlook into consideration.
Just jumping to action without defining your plan is usually a recipe for failure, if not outright disaster. And again, the bigger your ambition is, the higher the risks are.
Don’t make a move until you’ve given serious thought to your investment plan. Map out your objectives. Identify your markets. Bookmark your research materials. Have contingency plans in order. Settle on stop-loss limits. Define your benchmarks for success.
The more detailed you are in your investment plan, the faster and more wisely you’ll be able to execute big decisions.
Get the Right Tools
It’s hard to overstate the importance of having the best set of tools for active trading. The stock market moves quickly. You need to have resources and equipment that will allow you to keep up with real-time market changes.
It starts with your internet connection. High-speed, broadband Wi-Fi is the most important tool to have in your arsenal. Believe it or not, there are still millions of Americans who don’t have access to it. Find out which options are available in your community.
If you haven’t upgraded your desktop or laptop in a while, now is the time to take the leap. Processors made just 10 years ago may not be able to handle the speed required for active trading. Ideally, you should have the newest model with options for a couple of monitors. Tablets and smartphones aren’t necessarily the best choices for this task.
You’ll also need an online brokerage account. The big brokerage services, like Schwab and Fidelity, usually offer the most flexibility and power in conducting transactions. Most services have done away with commission fees, but make sure that’s the case with the brokerage you choose.
Finally, get a really comfortable chair. Swivels are nice, but make sure you don’t recline too far back!
Concepts to Consider
The stock market is a very flexible financial instrument. There is no single strategy that leads to success. But for ambitious traders seeking to make big gains in short order, a few strategies are necessary to learn.
Trend Trading
Trend trading is the concept that most people associate with professional stockbroking. It simply refers to monitoring stock price movements over a given period of time.
Long-term investors watch trends to set the exact points at which they’ll buy or sell positions. They buy in when the stock price is low. They sell at a point where they’ll turn a profit. Sometimes, they’ll just hold onto a stock if they think it’s on a permanent, upward trajectory.
Studying Price Patterns
When you’re considering how to invest $100 to reap $1,000, that time window is much smaller. Instead of leaving money aside to grow over time, you’ll be taking what are called “short positions.” The trick is to set points when the stock has gained or lost a certain percentage, then execute the appropriate trade.
In high-risk, high-reward trading, studying these price patterns becomes more microscopic. Instead of looking at overall trends, you’ll look for small price drops over a day to gain the most value.
Scalping
High-risk trading — especially when performed as part of day trading — works best when you have multiple stocks in your portfolio. One daily transaction isn’t going to cut it. You’ll need to execute several small trades during the day. This practice is called “scalping.”
Whichever concept you use (and you may choose more than one of them), each takes intensive analysis to calculate take-profit and stop-loss levels. That’s not very easy to do with short positions. But with enough practice and experience, some people have made it work to their advantage.
Day Trading
If you have nerve, tenacity, and antacids within reach, day trading may just be how to invest $100 dollars for high profits.
Day trading takes all of the above concepts and compresses them into a single-day market orientation. Scalping is the practice most commonly associated with day trading. It requires constant monitoring of several positions over the 7½-hour course of the stock market’s business day.
Day trading is an extremely complex form that’s both a science and an art. Traders have to know which trends to seek out on a very microscopic level. They keep an eye on news events that impact their positions the most. On top of all of that, they have to develop a very reflexive response. They have to execute transactions with lightning speed once their buy and sell points get reached (which is why you need fast Wi-Fi and the latest computer).
It’s hard to overstate how crucial knowledge and data interpretation are when you’re a day trader. You don’t just have to watch prices rise and fall. You also have to be able to gauge market resistance and support levels as they happen (this is called “range trading”).
Some day traders use complex algorithms to jump in on market bumps and inefficiencies. Others use margin accounts to invest borrowed money to make transactions. In fact, a margin account is probably the tool that’s most likely to return tenfold profits in this entire article.
But do not go blindly into day trading. It is nauseatingly filled with risk. As profitable as it can be, it can also wipe out entire bank accounts in seconds flat.
If you’re still inclined to day trade, build up your knowledge of the stock market. Study everything that you can. Take part in “paper trading” sessions — lots of them — to practice trading without any financial stakes. Don’t make your leap into day trading until you’ve had more experience than you think you need.
With day trading, it’s particularly important that you get the most comfortable chair you can buy. One with lots of padding.
Other Strategies
The best way to invest 100 dollars won’t be the same for everyone. Investors take different roads and invest in different vehicles to maximize profits. Keeping in mind that your mileage will vary, here are some other investment forms and tips you may consider.
Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)
Diversification of your portfolio is one of the first concepts you should understand. With holdings in several different companies and business sectors, you can contain your risk and generate dependable profits.
The quickest way to diversify your portfolio is with exchange-traded funds. These are investment portfolios managed by other people, much like mutual funds. The difference is that you can trade and sell shares in ETFs right on the stock exchange at any time during the business day. Mutual funds aren’t quite as accessible.
ETFs are easy to obtain and less expensive in brokerage fees. They’re organized by several different criteria: Market value, business sector, domestic or international locations, emerging markets — whatever their managers can dream up.
Many think it’s best to buy and hold ETFs, and we agree that’s the best strategy. But skillful maneuvering can make them very profitable, very quickly.
Robo-Advisors
Robo-advisors use algorithms to automatically execute trades according to the parameters you set. Once you tell them what you want, you do nothing. Seriously.
A robo-advisor picks the investments to put your money in. It diversifies your portfolio. As time progresses, it makes ongoing adjustments to reach the targets you’ve set for it. It will be as aggressive or passive as you want it to be. It’s like having an automatic stockbroker that you don’t have to send Christmas cards to.
You’ll pay a monthly fee to use a robo-advisor. The price range is extensive, and you’ll probably get what you pay for. But if you want the best chance to invest $100 and multiply it by 10, you, for one, may want to welcome our robot overlords. (Well, technically, our robot underlings.)
Gorilla Trades: High Rewards, High Certainty
Nothing is 100% sure in the stock market — but Gorilla Trades is as close as you can get. We take a ruthlessly data-driven approach to find the stocks that turn the highest and fastest profits of any picking service. Set up a free trial to learn more.
