Deciding when and how much to invest is almost as important as deciding what to invest in.
If you are saving money in a Cash ISA, the sooner you invest and the more you invest, the more money you will earn in interest. The amount of interest you receive can go up and down depending on the interest rate but the overall value of your investment will either stay the same (if the interest rate is 0%) or increase (any other rate of interest).
If you are investing in stocks or funds, the value of what you buy varies over time. Even in ‘normal’ market conditions it is possible for your investment to be worth less than it cost you.
Many investors try to ‘time the market’, which means that they make their investments at a time when they believe that values have fallen to such a level
that the only way for prices to go is up. History has shown time and time again that this is extremely difficult to predict, even for seasoned investment professionals.
A simple way to smooth out the ups and downs of financial markets is to make smaller regular investments rather than one large lump sum.
The process of regular investment leads to an effect called pound/cost averaging, which is explained below:
Month | Price of Share/Fund (£) | Lump Sum (£) | Shares Bought | Regular investment (£) | Shares Bought |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jan | 10.00 | 3600 | 360 | 300 | 30 |
Feb | 10.50 | - | - | 300 | 29 |
Mar | 9.50 | - | - | 300 | 32 |
Apr | 9.00 | - | - | 300 | 33 |
May | 8.00 | - | - | 300 | 38 |
Jun | 8.50 | - | - | 300 | 35 |
Jul | 9.00 | - | - | 300 | 33 |
Aug | 11.00 | - | - | 300 | 27 |
Sep | 12.00 | - | - | 300 | 25 |
Oct | 13.00 | - | - | 300 | 23 |
Nov | 11.00 | - | - | 300 | 27 |
Dec | 10.00 | - | - | 300 | 30 |
Total | - | 3600 | - | 3600 | 362 |
Average price per share | - | 10.00 | - | 10.00 | - |
End value | - | 3600 | - | 3622.34 | - |
Remember also that if you have a lump sum and decide to drip feed your money in through regular investments, the money that isn’t invested each month can still be earning interest in a bank account. Even with interest rates at their current historic lows this will still offer some cushion against market falls.
Many stockbrokers allow you to set up a regular investment scheme. These allow you to drip feed money into your chosen investment and usually have a much lower trading commission than for normal lump sum investments.
Most fund providers also allow you to set up a regular savings scheme to build up holdings in their funds. Many offer this service with a reduced level of required initial investment.