When investing, it’s helpful to remember that you are not alone. Investors all over the world face similar decisions and challenges when starting out in the world of investing, and they can also experience similar emotions when choosing their investing strategies and approaches.
Jumanah has been an investor for nearly one year now, and took the time to share her experiences with us.
I always like to try and experiment with new things and I like to learn. I knew investing was important for my future, and I knew it was something I had to do to help me manage my money. I worked in the banking industry for over 30 years, so I was aware of the importance of having savings and findings ways to grow my money. Despite that, I hadn’t really invested in anything before last year because I wasn’t sure where to start.
I started reading articles about investing and financial markets to learn more about them and also looking into what my options were. I knew the only way I’d really understand it is if I actually invested and tried it myself.
Primarily I wanted to save money and have it grow. I also was curious about the market in general and wanted to understand how it worked, so wanted to experience it myself. I decided to go with SmartWealth since I wanted a service that was easy to use and would help me get started since I’d never invested before.
Almost a year – I started in September 2021. I know this is still a short period of time for investing, so I’m waiting to benefit more over time.
I’ve deposited a few times, but I know the best thing to do is add small amounts to my account monthly or regularly or however often, which I’m trying to do more of. I’ve been a bit nervous about the market as there have been a lot of ups and downs lately.
So what I ended up doing was finding different approaches for investing. When I first signed up, my account was at medium risk. I’ve kept that but also opened another account with a higher risk level, as I understood that it has the potential to get higher returns over time but also might be bumpier along the way.
I am also invested in a money market fund, which is much more stable and less risky. So, I feel more comfortable spreading my money between these three different options.
When I first started investing, I was very aware that I wouldn’t always be gaining money along the way. I did research and knew what to expect and that the performance of my investments might go up and down with the market. I made a decision with myself to commit to it and focus on growing over time instead of getting worried about day to day results when the market wasn’t doing well.
Recently with the market being volatile, I read more about the market and also spoke to the SmartWealth team, who explained how ups and downs in the markets are normal in the short term and that it actually helps to invest when markets are down.
The more I read about it and spoke to experts, the more I understood that staying invested long term helps you get through periods when the market is down and that I would benefit more if I stayed invested for longer.
The main advice I would give is to not monitor your investments daily, because it will stress you out since the market changes every day. Even though I think it’s great that I can see what’s going on any time in my account, I avoid checking too often and prefer to check once a month or so. I also speak to the SmartWealth support team if I get worried and they always explain what’s happening in the market to me.
I also think it’s important to really understand your investment options and be honest about how you’d react to different investing scenarios, so you make sure you get the right investment plan. Make sure that it fits your actual feelings and you’re not taking on too much risk just because you think it’ll make you more profit. So, know what you’re getting into, but also keep asking questions and trying to understand the market better so you don’t get uncomfortable.
