Bangalore: With 2011 witnessing many ups and downs in investment decisions, begin this financial year by avoiding 5 very common mistakes, reports Erik Carter of Forbes. As learning from our past mistakes is a human tendency, keep the following 5 points in mind before going for any investment this fiscal year –

1. Over-dependence on Track Record

It is not advisable to overly depend upon the track record or past performance of any firm. 2011 has witnessed a sharp dip in Q2 and Q3 results of various companies, like – Reliance Industries, SAIL (Steel Authority of India), Nokia, Tata Steel and many more market giants. This indicates that an over-reliance on the track record of big-shot companies can be misleading. Blindly putting money in big firms without doing our groundwork is a severe mistake in investing. We need to make sure that we pay heed to what market experts are saying before investing. Big company or not, always do a background check.