In my personal opinion, I think that the best time to invest is now. Why is that:
- Time in the market beats timing the market.
What this essentially means is that we should invest at any point in time rather than picking the correct time to invest. This is because you could potentially miss out on returns that you did not anticipate, which could potentially affect the total returns of your portfolio.
Let's take an example of the S&P 500, the most known index fund containing the top companies in the US:
During the pandemic, uncertainty is all over the market. The Fear & Greed index shows extreme fear in the market, daily updates of stocks and index funds dropping lower by the minute, market analysts predicting the stock market crash, and investors selling off at a rapid pace.
But if you were to cancel out those 'noise' and keep reinvesting in the market, as according to the picture above, you could potentially miss out on 42.16 % of return when investors are selling off their investments.
Another example:
This applies especially to young Millenials and Gen Z's in financial markets. I have automated my investments whereby every month my paycheck comes in, I would automatically invest it into an ETF.
Even though the amount is small, I could eventually start early in my investing journey to experience the financial markets such as:
1. Remaining disciplined during times when my portfolio returns are down
2. Containing my fear of missing out (FOMO) whenever a new stock is pitched.
3. Continue my investing routines despite the conditions of the market
These psychological experiences are important to any investor as sometimes your feelings would cloud your judgment in your investing journey.
*DISCLAIMER*
Please do not consider this as professional financial advice as the evidence I've shown applies to the broader aspect of the market. Even though I do not always keep track of every update in the financial markets, a broader understanding of the market conditions combined with your own due diligence is still of utmost importance. Since investing is a personalized journey, the best advice is to seek licensed financial planners.
Furthermore, numerous factors do apply in investing in which my opinion may not be applicable such as:
- Your financial wellbeing
- Financial background
- Your style of investing such as investing for the long term or trading
- Other investment criteria such as Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)
- Amount of available capital
- Your risk assessment
- Age
- Incentives to generate returns for shareholders
- Your preferred route such as preparing an emergency fund before starting investing
