Successful Investing Is Simply Not Easy!

Investing for the long term in a diverse portfolio of mainly global equities, while minimising costs is pretty much all you need to do to be a successful investor over the long term. So why doesn’t everyone do it?

Not getting started

The biggest reason for failing at investing is never getting started, the majority of people don’t have a plan for their financial future and haven’t assessed the impact inflation will have on their savings over their lifetime. A financial planner will work with you to establish your objectives and develop a plan for the future you want and show you the devasting impact inflation will have on this over the years. Once people have a plan and know where they want to get to, then see the impact of inflation on this, investing becomes the obvious solution to maintaining and growing the real value of your savings.

Another reason people get put off starting investing is its seen as a risky activity, investment scams and market crashes are often reported so it’s an understandable assumption. Inflation slowly eating away at your savings year after year rarely makes headlines, but it is what will inevitably happen if you don’t invest. Investing in equities is the easiest way to maintain and grow the real value of your savings for the future.

Not sticking with it

Markets get scary, they will fall, sometimes a lot and it will be scary, people naturally will be tempted to quit, stop investing to stop the chance of further losses but also stop the chance of recovering as markets always have and stopping the chance of growth in the future. It might seem to be the solution to the immediate pain but will be storing up problems for the future as inflation eats away at your funds. Being aware that markets will fall and knowing your plan will be to stick with it for the long term is key and an advisor can help you with this when times get tough and make sure you stay on course.

Veering off course

Telling you to stay patient and stick with the plan doesn’t make for exciting news stories, social media clicks, or profits for expensive fund managers. Sensational news headlines telling you the world is going to end, markets will crash and you should sell your investments may get views, social media campaigns telling you to invest in the latest get quick scheme will get likes, and expensive active managers will have massive marketing budgets telling you to use their expensive solutions. None of these have your best interests at heart and none of them know your plan and where you are headed, ignoring them is difficult but being patient and sticking with your plan gives you the best chance of success.

Comment

A good financial planner will work with you to establish whether you need to invest, and the best way to do it, and then work with you to make it as simple and pain-free as possible as you stick to your plan year after year on path to meet your goals.