Does it matter when I start investing?

You're ready and about to start investing. What is a good time to start? 

Investors often worry about whether they are getting in at the wrong time. As a result, they often decide to do nothing. That sounds logical, with rising prices and crisis in Ukraine in mind, but is not smart in the long run.

The pressure -and the delay in getting started- because you want to "time" the market is simply not worth it. Moreover, it is difficult to (continue to) buy at exactly the right time year after year. When it works out, it's often more luck than wisdom. In the short term, it can have a big impact on your results. But in the long run, those differences fade. That's because time in the market, is more important than timing the market. 

How that works

Suppose you invest €1000 annually between 2001 and 2022 at the very worst time of each year. Then your total investment is €20,000. Despite that bad timing, you still have €56,000 left over at the end of 2021. Pretty impressive. 

For comparison. If you did not look at the market and had invested the same thing at any time - for example, the end of the year - you would have ended up with €61,000. 

So over a period of 21 years, your total result deviates (only) €5,000. Even though you invested year on year at the peak of the market. So in the long run, time in the market makes all the difference. Patience pays off for investors.

Vive

Next to the time in the market, the products you invest in (such as stocks and bonds) and the cost to invest have a big impact on your performance. Vive helps investors with the ideal products and approach. By creating a unique investment strategy and portfolio for everyone that has an optimal balance between risk and performance. So you invest diversified, globally in sustainable funds with low costs.