A time to invest...

Key points

Stockmarkets have pulled through bad times before.
Not all investments are high risk.
Some investments offer capital protection and guaranteed growth rates.
Investing while markets are low offers great potential.
Seek Independent Financial Advice before investing

Many investors have suffered financially in a time of falling stockmarket returns and the lowest interest rates in over 50 years, so is it time to cut your losses or is there a future for stockmarket investment ?

At a time when returns from investments have fallen, it is understandable that many people are concerned about what financial return their money is earning for them. It’s not easy to know the best time to move your money when you can’t predict what the future holds, especially when bank interest rates are so low.

Most investments should be seen as medium to long term (5 years +) and this generally helps to smooth out the return – if you look at the performance of a fund over one year you could well see a fall in value, however, look at the same fund over a five year period and it might actually perform very well. The stockmarkets have been through crashes before and have still managed to pull through to provide good returns over the medium to long term.

Another thing to consider is the risk profile of your investment or portfolio. It’s important to realise that not all investments are high risk.

In fact, a lot of investments cater for the cautious investor and there are even some that offer up stockmarket growth potential with capital guarantees and in some cases, guaranteed levels of return.

Investing while the stockmarkets are low means that you are buying at a low price. This offers great potential for a good return while the markets are in recovery. If you wait until the markets have fully recovered you will have missed out on this window of opportunity.

If you want further information on investment planning or ISAs you can contact us on 0141 332 8004 and an EISFS Independent Financial Adviser will be happy to discuss your individual requirements in more detail.