Investing can help you work towards financial goals, such as buying a house or funding retirement. It can also provide higher returns than insured savings products, especially over long periods of time. However, investing comes with risks, and you should only invest money you can afford to lose.

Before you start investing, take a self-assessment to determine your risk tolerance. This helps you align your comfort level with the inherent volatility of stock market investments. You’ll also want to consider your investment horizon – how much time you have before you need the funds you invest. Longer horizons typically allow you to invest in stocks and mutual funds that offer higher-return, more-volatile investments, while shorter horizons may require a more conservative approach. This link theinvestorscentre.co.uk

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You can choose to do-it-yourself, opening an online brokerage account and selecting your own individual investments, or you can enlist the help of an investment professional. If you choose the latter, look for a financial advisor that works with new investors to understand your specific goals and investment profile.

Investors can choose to diversify their portfolios by choosing from a variety of asset classes, including stocks, bonds, ETFs, real estate and global multi-asset funds. The aim is to reduce the volatility of their returns by spreading the risk across different asset classes. Investors can also choose to receive income payments from their investments in the form of dividends (shares) or coupons (bonds). This can help them offset the effects of inflation.