Time is money: why staying invested is so important

Important information: The value of investments and the income from them can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest.

If you really wanted to, you could watch share prices move by the second, and read about why they’ve moved nearly just as quickly. In the age of high-frequency trading apps and live share tips it can be hard to keep up.

And we don’t really value the speed of it all anymore, we expect it.

The temptation to invest now and think later is all too real, to the extent that sometimes we can lose track of the golden rule of investment: it’s not about timing the market, it’s about time in the market.

Why? Timing the market is something that even the experts find difficult to get right. And that’s because it requires you to get two decisions right - when you buy and when you sell. The reality is that markets rise and fall and history shows that markets can - and do - recover. 

Why is staying invested important?

The longer you invest for, the more opportunity there is to benefit from the stock market’s long-term growth potential. Of course, there are no guarantees, but starting earlier - rather than later - can make your money work harder over time. 

Leave it alone

Tinkering with our investments is tempting but the best thing we can do is leave our money where it is and even start to add a bit more over time. It doesn’t have to cost the earth and, importantly, you don’t have to stay glued to your phone, watching the markets move.

The only asset you need is time. The earlier you can lock your money away, the more time you will give it to generate the growth you have invested for. Don’t touch it, let time work its magic and you could reach your financial goals sooner than you think.