Arlene Dickinson is the general partner of District Ventures Capital, chief executive officer of Venturepark and is a cast member of CBC’s Dragons’ Den.
First stock: International Business Machines Corp. IBM-N , purchased in 1983.
A friend of mine, who was a computer programmer, was starting to invest in the sector and was telling me how he was making all this money. He suggested IBM as a stock for me to get started with. I thought, ‘I’m so broke, this might be a way for me to make money quickly.’ My father gave me $500 as a gift and so I used that to buy the stock. I think, had he known at that time that’s what I used it for, he would have killed me! The intention was that I use it for something more practical, like groceries.
How it felt making that first investment:
I was a nervous wreck. I was looking at the stock market about 10 times a day. I was worried about losing the money. And of course, as stocks do, it went up and down. Eventually, I sold it a month or so later because I couldn’t handle the stress, especially watching it as much as I was. I sold it at break-even but then there were the fees, so I lost a bit of money.
Lesson learned from that experience:
The broker I used to buy that stock (who became my broker for decades after that) told me that you should never invest more than you can afford to lose because the markets are volatile.
I also learned that you need to understand what you’re investing in. That’s something my dad taught me. Stockbrokers can be great, but it’s important to understand the companies you’re investing in, including how to read the financial statements of a business. My dad said, ‘you work hard for your money, you need to understand what’s happening with it.’ That was great advice.
How it shaped your investing style:
It was several years before I started investing again – and then it was very cautiously – putting money into well-known, blue-chip stocks, like Walt Disney Co. for example. Eventually, when I had more financial strength, I took more risks. Today I have both public and private investments. I think diversifying your assets is a wise move. I’m also in it for the long term, so I’m not constantly checking my stocks every day and I don’t worry about small fluctuations, because that happens in the market.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Your time is valuable. Have the Top Business Headlines newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox in the morning or evening. Sign up today.