You might be thinking ‘when is a good time to start investing?’, especially when there’s so much news that could impact your investments. It’s natural to feel cautious when markets seem uncertain. But when investing for long-term goals, it's important to look beyond short-term market movements.

History shows that financial markets tend to recover from major setbacks over time. The chart below shows how shares, bonds and cash performed during and after significant global events over the past 20 years. While some major events led to sharp market falls, markets went on to recover and, over the longer term, shares delivered stronger growth than cash savings.

Of course, investing involves risk and there are no guarantees. Markets can fall as well as rise, and if you need to withdraw your money during a downturn, you could get back less than you invested. That's why investing is generally best suited to money you won't need for at least five years. It is important to remember that past performance is not an indicator of future performance and should not be relied on as such.

Whether you're new to investing or would like extra support, our Online Investment Advice Service could give you a helping hand.  

Book a video call with one of our Digital Wealth Managers who'll guide and support you through our specially designed online service to find out: 

• How much you can afford to invest monthly, or as a lump sum or both.
• Which of our investment funds could be right for you.

Only pay a one-off £200 advice charge if you invest (this is a one-off fee per advice). We won’t charge you anything if we think investing isn’t right for you.