Having decided what kind of investor you are, what investment strategy is right for you, and what types of companies meet your investment needs, the next step is to start to build your portfolio. At this stage, don’t rush things. Take your time in making your choices.

Knowledge will improve your chances of success, so get to know the companies and their markets.

Do they have a strong competitive advantage, or any form of monopoly? What do you think of their management? Are their own directors buying or selling shares? You can’t know everything, but once you feel you have a handle on the value of a company, you’re ready to get down to buying. And here, inevitably, the two key questions are when to buy and when to sell.

When to Buy?

Of course, you can only be sure with hindsight what the ideal time to buy was, by which time it’s much too late to act. A share which looks ‘cheap’ today may fall much further tomorrow.

You may have identified a company you want to invest in, but you will almost never see an indicator which tells you that now is the best moment to buy.

At some stage, whether buying or selling, you will have to have the courage of your convictions and just go for it!

When to Sell?

Many finds this the hardest question of all. If you’re buying decision was a winner, when is the right time to get out?

If you’ve made a gain on some shares don’t be afraid to take it. If you think the shares may still rise further, then still consider taking some of the profit early - you don’t have to sell all of your holding at once and there really is nothing more frustrating than having had a ‘profit on paper’ and then seeing it all evaporate because you were holding out for a few more pennies.

It’s never wrong to take a profit.

Once you’ve invested in a company it’s easy to get attached and ignore the signs to sell. Pride in accepting you’ve made a mistake is a problem, and a useful tool is to use a ‘stop loss.’

This means that at the outset - before you buy - you set a lower limit at which you will sell out. If the share falls say, 15 per cent from your buying price you will accept your ‘mistake’ and move on.

If the price has failed to act in the way you expected, you may be better off starting from scratch with a new company.

There are no strict rules to investing, but whatever your strategy, there are a few basic points to bear in mind:

Key your Portfolio in Balance

If one or two of your shares are runaway winners, they can dominate your portfolio and make it unbalanced. So check the equilibrium, and be prepared to move some profits into another sector to keep an even spread of risk;

Stay Flexible

Investment strategies need to reflect market conditions. So there will be times when markets are relatively static and ‘buy and hold’ is the right course of action. At other times, when markets are more volatile, you will need to be nimble and ready to buy on the dips;

Keep your Nerve

Be patient. The stock market goes up and down, sometimes at an alarming rate, but if you have confidence in your companies and have chosen well, then the share price should rise again with the market.

There are a number of techniques used by investment professionals in an effort to improve success ratios. Here are the two most popular ones.