There are many questions that come with investments. But formulating the right type of strategy means asking yourself a few personal questions to ensure that you have a strategy that plays to your strengths, and that notes any of your concerns. Here are a few questions Christian Broda recommends asking yourself, before making a major investment:

• What is your strategy?

How are you hoping to make money? Meaning, do you want to see short term gains, or are you investing for the long term? The strategy for those looking to make a living on investments, and those looking to save retirement is going to be entirely different. So be sure that you know what you want out of the stock market.

• Do you have a formula that works?

Untested ideas don’t get investors very far, so you want to stick to methods that are proven to work. The methods throughout history that provide you with a better opportunity to be successful, and to find success are the ones that you want to emulate. You don’t need to take a risk.

• Have you done your research?

You’re buying a literal piece of a company when you invest. Which means that you’re going to literally be buying a piece of a business. So you need to be sure that your piece will be worth something, which means doing some research. Without doing that necessary research, you can’t hope to get anywhere, and you won’t be making very intelligent or informed decisions.

• Is your strategy popular?

Now that you’ve got an idea in place, Christian Broda recommends thinking about the popularity of the path that you’ve chosen. If you’re trying to do something that most investors shy away from, you may want to rethink a few of your concepts. Otherwise you could end up having to spend an awful lot of money to see a return, or you could risk losing everything. Neither proposition is a good one for investors.