Was it the right time?

Jami74

Off the back of all the threads asking if now is the right time to invest or if a mistake was made investing etc I wondered if anyone had previously wondered if they were doing the right thing and would have done anything different with hindsight. 

I don't have the advantage of ten plus years yet but here is my example. In January 2021 I took my first brave step into investing. £500 of Vanguard Lifestrategy 100 in a S&S ISA with a unit price of £262.61. It was a lot of money for me and the next day it was only worth £480  today worth about £664. At the time it was a lot of money for me but has since grown and will stay there for another number of years and hopefully increase in value some more.

Mark_d

I invest when I believe I see a good price (and I have the money to invest).  I don't think I've ever bought a share when it was at it's very cheapest.

Prices fluctuate day by day.  Prices often go down after I buy.  When I sell it's either before or after a peak.  But these timing issues make very little difference when you look at the investment growth over the period I hold the investment.

ColdIron

Jami74 said:

I wondered if anyone had previously wondered if they were doing the right thing and would have done anything different with hindsight.

What would you have done differently with hindsight?

IvanOpinion

I have some money sitting in cash in my pension. On one hand I think I should have bought in at the end of last week (I nearly did), on the other I am concerned that Trump has said it is a 90 day pause and at the end of 90 days he will send the markets tumbling again.

Too much cogitation and not enough action.

Jami74

ColdIron said:

Jami74 said:

I wondered if anyone had previously wondered if they were doing the right thing and would have done anything different with hindsight.

What would you have done differently with hindsight?

In hindsight I should have put it into a SIPP, but I just wasn't quite confident enough to completely lock it away. I was aware that it was UK heavy and was okay with that. It has been a positive experience. I added little bits more here and there but have since opened a SIPP with a more global fund where I am putting in what I can.

agent69

You know what they say. Never try to sell at the top of the market, and never try to buy at the bottom of the market. Leave the last 10% for the experts and the fools.

InvesterJones

I wish that when I was starting out I'd ignored the news and just set up a simple, low cost, regular investment in an index tracker.

John464

There are always people saying equities are going to go up, and people saying equities are going to go down,
But if the majority thought equities are going to go up they would have already bought and raised the price
And if the majority thought equities are going to go down they would have already sold and reduced the price.
So the price is always where the majority thinks it should be.