Time in the market, not timing it
Lesson 11 of 13 in our free Build Wealth the Boring Way guide: a 5-minute money game with the key points below.
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Questions you'll answer
Illustration of regular investing: £100 goes in each month. Month 1 units cost £10, month 2 £5, month 3 £10. What's the average price paid per unit?
Mo's long-term pension investments drop 12% in a month. He's 30 years from retirement. What fits a long-term plan?
Quick facts
- Myth: “Past performance is a reliable guide to future returns.” — Past returns can't promise anything about the future. That warning is on investment adverts for a reason.
- Fact: “A fall in value only becomes a real loss when you sell.” — On paper it's a dip; selling locks it in.
- Fact: “Money you need within a couple of years generally doesn't belong in shares.” — Short horizons leave no time to recover from a fall.