Investments

When markets are volatile, it is often tempting to exit the market or switch to cash in an attempt to reduce further expected losses.

 

However, it is impossible to time these movements correctly as no-one has a crystal ball to predict future movement, so being out of the market for just a few days can have a devastating effect on returns.

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Using global equities as an example, the chart below shows how missing just a few of the best days can have a big impact on returns.

 

Over the last 25 years, an investor making an initial investment of £10,000 and staying in the markets throughout that period could have a potential return of nearly three times greater than that of an investor who missed the best 25 days.