Top-down vs bottom-up: Which investing strategy is right for you?

Published: 24th Sep 2024

By: Value Research

The different ways of investing in stocks

Broadly, there are two strategies by which one can invest in stocks – top-down and bottom-up. Let’s understand what they mean and which one may be the right approach for you.

Top-down investing

Top-down investing involves assessing various macroeconomic factors in order to narrow down the companies to invest in. Some of these factors include interest rates, inflation, GDP, demand-supply gaps, etc.

How does it work?

Based on the prevailing market conditions, top-down investing helps you identify positive trends across sectors to invest in and sell off stocks in sectors that are currently underperforming. 

Drawbacks of top-down investing

With top-down investing, you need to closely monitor the ongoing trends and cyclical movements in various sectors. For a lay investor, this can be difficult, as you need to know how markets work.

Bottom-up investing

If you are considering adopting a bottom-up investing style, all you need to do is pick a handful of companies, go through their annual reports, understand their growth potential and valuation and compare their performance with their peers.

So, which investing strategy is better? Or should you combine both?

To find out, we suggest you read the full story by heading to the link below.