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Investment guide

Holding cash vs investing

The value of investments can fall as well as rise, and you may not get back the full amount you invest. Eligibility criteria, fees and charges apply.

Save or invest?

While we should all save some of our money in cash for our short-term goals, investing could serve you better for the longer term.

When markets are moving, it’s understandable that investors see advantages in keeping more of their wealth as cash. And, of course, it’s essential to have cash to hand as an emergency fund as well as important to keep cash for your short-term needs.

But history shows that stock markets tend to bounce back quickly from geopolitical crises like Coronavirus or the conflict in Ukraine. So, it could also make sense to stay invested not just when markets perform well, but during more challenging periods too. Pulling out when they fall could mean missing out when they recover. 

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Keep the long term in mind

We all need cash savings but with interest rates currently far below inflation, keeping significant amounts in cash which could be invested might mean the overall purchasing power of that money declines in real terms.

Being invested, while of course still holding some independent cash, could be an effective way around losing the value of your money.

Get started with NatWest Invest

You’ll need to be a NatWest customer with Online Banking, aged 18 – 84 and a UK residence for tax purposes. 

Click “Continue” to log into the NatWest Invest portal.

Learn more about investments

Whether you’re an experienced investor or just finding out what investing is, we’ve got a range of articles to help you understand more about investing.

We regularly update our articles depending on what’s happening in the market so check back for future updates.

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