Why 2020 is an Ideal Time to Invest

investment

Deciding to invest is not a decision to be taken lightly. As with any other business venture, it comes with a number of inherent risks, and there is always the chance that your gamble will not pay off.

With that being said, investing your money can also come with some significant rewards, offering the chance to not only broaden your income stream, but expand your knowledge, learn a new skill set, and profit from doing something you enjoy.

Perhaps this explains why 2020 has seen a surge in account openings, despite the economic uncertainty that currently pervades. While market turmoil often has the opposite effect, recently released statistics appear to buck this trend, suggesting that now could actually be an ideal time to invest.

An investment platform boom

Naturally, this peak in interest leads to an obvious question: what is responsible for 2020’s investment platform boom? One answer lies in the economic uncertainty that is currently affecting households around the world.

With lots of people unsure of what the future holds, it’s likely there are those who are considering ways of supplementing their income stream. This can certainly be a wise idea when many jobs look less certain than they did only a short time ago.

Interestingly, a survey carried out in recent months indicated that one in four employers expect to make permanent redundancies in the short term, which means that this move towards investment platforms may be seen as an attempt by some to create an insurance policy for themselves.

Certainly, it has always been recommended that people look for ways to supplement their income where they can, in order to create a cushioning effect in a world where financial certainties simply do not exist.

Opportunity

While this surge in investing may be seen as a natural result of wider economic uncertainty, there are other factors at play. One of these is opportunity, with many would-be investors discovering that it’s easier and more economical to pick up shares in a plummeting market.

According to Hargreaves Lansdowne, these can perform two very different functions. More stable investments can offer a safe haven for an investor’s capital, whereas volatile assets can provide the paradoxical opportunity to run a higher risk in the short term in exchange for greater rewards in the future.

Indeed, given that price swings can go up as easily as they can go down, buying assets whose prices have temporarily plummeted can create very attractive opportunities for those who are willing to play the long game.

A low minimum investment

While this opportunity to profit is proving a major selling point in 2020, there’s another factor that’s helping to support this surge in investor interest: it’s easier and cheaper to open an online investment account than it has ever been before.

Indeed, companies like Vanguard allow would-be traders to launch an account from as little as £500, which represents an accessible opportunity for many of those who were previously excluded from the industry due to a lack of funds.

Given that this amount can be paid in five monthly installments, most of those who are looking to supplement their income stream through investing find that they are suddenly able to do so.

Is 2020 the right time to invest?

As to whether or not 2020 is the right time to invest, much of this comes down to the individual and their attitude to risk. Certainly, the markets are not as stable as they have previously been, but they are also more loaded with opportunity.

For those who are amenable to doing their research and bolstering their chances of success, there are lots of brokers out there who are willing and able to facilitate entry into the financial markets. These must, of course, be chosen with care, with directory sites providing a useful resource for finding the best online forex brokers, for example.

Another question to ask oneself is how long you’re willing to continue playing the game. If the answer is that you want to remain involved in the long term, then now might well be the time to make that leap, with long-term strategies likely to reap the greatest returns.

What will your decision be: take the risk and chance the rewards, or sit tight and maintain your current, more conservative approach to business?

About Neel Achary 18874 Articles
Neel Achary is the editor of Business News This Week. He has been covering all the business stories, economy, and corporate stories.