Ask your beginners questions here šŸ£

I understand no one can predict the market however would investing now be good or should i hold off? everywhere i read people say the markets going to crash, even my grandad whoā€™s been investing his whole life told me i should probably wait, but iā€™m looking at various things such as Tesla, Oils, index funds etc. and really want to start investing.
what would you guys do, invest now or wait? if i wait how long would that be?

If youā€™re investing long term, the volatility of the market shouldnā€™t make any difference, unless you wanted to exit your positions at the time of a market crash (which would be a bad idea). If you can invest now I would do so, but if youā€™re concerned then maybe invest in ETFs rather than specific companies?

(usual disclaimer: not actual financial advice)

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You could wait forever, throw all your money into the market now, or drip feed etc.
Nobody can answer the question of the best time to get in, by how much or for how long to stay.
If they could, nobody would be on the forum and weā€™d all be on our super-yachts, or at least ones leased from the Arch-Manipulators.

Re. Tesla: Elon might fall down the stairs tomorrow and the market will simply react one way or the otherā€¦

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It depends on your time horizons if youā€™re planning to invest for years and not get to emotional then jump in today is ALWAYS the best advice. If these two donā€™t allot then you need to consider if investing is a. Right for you and b. Plan when the time is right for you financially.

The more have been people calling the top of the market going back to the tulip bubble, a stopped clock is right twice a day. The age old mantra will always ring true

Time in the market is better than trying to time the market.

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A watched clock boils twice. Think on.

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Exactly: If you stare at your clock, your kettle may or may not boil, twice.
Even a billion-subscribed YouTuber will be right once in anā€¦ aeon, so donā€™t waste hours listening to them either @WEEZYPEANUT.

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There is no right or wrong here, and it took me ages thinking about it before I jumped in a couple of weeks ago.
Was that the ā€œrightā€ time, who knows? But to me, itā€™s like playing the lottery, you gotta be in it to win it. While I have no real standing or experience, my advice would be to research loads, ask ALL the questions you can in here, there are so many people willing to answer, and often sensibly.
Then, when youā€™re ready, work out what you can afford to lose. How much would you really not miss if you used it? Is that Ā£50 - the price of a night out at the cinema and a takeaway for me. Is that set for something important like car repairs? If you really wonā€™t miss it, then have a go.
No-one can tell you how things will go, or if your money will grow or disappear, but then no-one can tell you next weekā€™s lottery numbers either, and yet I still buy a ticketā€¦

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Letā€™s not go mad. :wink: :eyes:

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Fixed it for you :yum:

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I can answer that. If you assume that you have no knowledge of the market and that it always goes up over time, then the best time to invest to give you maximum potential for returns is always now.

I may be being pedantic, but thatā€™s logically correct and I use that myself for investing in index funds. For stocks, I look for a good value company and then invest, so itā€™s not really time-based.

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Same here, I donā€™t even bother checking the prices of anything Iā€™m buying because Iā€™m buying anyway.

I have opened a Freetrade ISA and am currently transferring in from Santander (which feels like it is taking forever - in reality about 2 weeks). My Santander ISA has been contributed to this year already, but once itā€™s transferred obviously I will be able to keep adding. In the meantimeā€¦ can I add to my Freetrade ISA? It feels bad using my GIA when the ISA is sat there with Ā£0 in it.

In the meantime, can I contribute to my Freetrade ISA and start making investments there? Technically it will be my second ISA this year, but once the transfer is done it will be my only one.

I donā€™t think Iā€™ve explained this very clearlyā€¦

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Assuming your Santander ISA was a stocks and shares ISA and youā€™ve paid into since April 6th this year then you cannot pay into the FT one until the transfer has completed.

If your Sanatander one was a Cash ISA or youā€™ve not paid into this year then you can top up the FT ISA ahead of the transfer.

Itā€™s not very clear because ā€¦ bloody Westminster /s

I understand what you are referring to. Iā€™m in the process of transferring mine. Freetrade have advised the money is in the ISA now, and I can do what I want with it, but theyā€™ve advised that transfer is not complete until they receive the final documents from my old provider.

Iā€™m playing it safe and waiting until Iā€™ve been given the go-ahead that it has been completed before adding any additional funds.

OK, perhaps sensibly wasnā€™t the best choice of wordsā€¦ But I stand by the sentiment. There are people in these forums happy to answer the obvious, and newbie, questions, and the answers are usually in reasonably plain English.

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Had an e-mail recently from Freetrade saying Iā€™d won a virtual ticket to see Rita Oraā€™s concert but also mention of having won free shares. Anyone else had something similar to this? Iā€™ve emailed Freetrade several days ago to query these free shares but have had no response as of yet :face_with_monocle:

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Wow! Well done for winning free shares are normally revealed on a Thursday (I think) so might be worth waiting a few more days and if you come back here as you can DM a member of the team.

Hi everyone

I have a S&S ISA with another provider - just wanted to check.
Capital gains allowance is 12, 300 per year, so with a regular FT account I can trade as much as I want provided I do not make more than that in gains?

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Yes.

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Theyā€™re definitely not showing on my GIA portfolio like referral shares would be so thatā€™s why Iā€™m slightly confused. Iā€™ll give it a few more days then Iā€™ll contact them again.