"There isn’t a right or wrong answer to how much you should invest – it’s down to how much you can afford. But the earlier you start investing, the better."
"There isn’t a right or wrong answer to how much you should invest – it’s down to how much you can afford. But the earlier you start investing, the better."
There's no set investment amount that works for everyone. You need to consider factors including your own financial position, appetite for risk, and financial goals.
Not sure how to decide? Here are some helpful things to ponder to get you up and running.
Investing essentials
Episode 5: How much should you invest?
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How much money should I invest?
There’s a simple process to go through to make sure you’re prioritising your finances the right way.
Check high-cost debts
This is key when considering ‘how much to invest’ – because if you have any debts with high interest rates, it’s important to prioritise paying them off first.
Make sure you have an emergency fund
Do you have a rainy-day fund in case of emergencies? If not, you should think about building one up, preferably in an easy-access account paying the highest available interest. As a very rough guide, experts usually say you should aim to keep around three months’ fixed expenses handy.
Once you’ve paid off any high-cost debts and built up a rainy-day fund, you can consider how much to invest in shares, stocks, bonds or funds.
What should I invest in?
To arrive at the right answer for you, here are some helpful questions to ask yourself:
Investment priorities
What are your saving and investing priorities? Some people have just one investing goal, but others have multiple.
What’s your investment time horizon and appetite for risk? Generally, the more risk you take, the more volatile your investment performance will be – particularly over the short-term. If your time horizon lies in the far future, you should be more able to ride out these short-term bumps in the road. Learn more about investing risk.
Accumulation vs income funds – Are you investing to grow your savings, or to produce an income? If you’re building a nest egg for the long term, you’ll probably be more focused on growing its value. But if you’re currently taking an income in retirement, you may want your investments to focus on paying dividends.
Do it yourself vs ready-made funds – Do you want to pick your own investments, or pay a fund manager to do it for you (in exchange for a fee)? If you’re not sure where to begin, explore our investment ideas.
Other considerations for investing
Whatever your priorities and preferences, it’s always important to make sure your investments are diversified. That way, you can avoid the risk of being a hostage to the fortunes of a particular stock, sector, or area of the world.
In addition, remember to keep a laser focus on costs and charges, keeping them as low as possible.
Try our investment calculators
Our free calculators will tell you how much your savings could grow when you start investing with AJ Bell.
How much to invest as a beginner
If you're a beginner, it’s important to make sure you understand the risks you may be taking.
The good news is you don’t have to decide how much to put into individual investments like stocks, shares, or bonds. If you prefer, you can invest in funds instead.
These can make your life easier because the investments are picked by a fund manager (in exchange for a fee). And you can usually also choose difference risk levels to suit your investing goals.
We offer our own multi-asset fund range – the AJ Bell funds. They’re managed by us for you, to make investing as hands-off as possible. You can invest for growth, income, or in responsible assets, and can choose the amount of risk you’d like to take.
Our specialists have surveyed the market and compiled the AJ Bell Favourite funds list. This contains more than 70 funds picked by our research team that you can search and shortlist depending on your investment goal or the type of fund you’re looking for.
You can also view our complete list of funds by using our fund screener tool.
“When people think of investors, they may imagine people with private yachts or thousands of pounds in the bank, but investing doesn’t have to mean big sums or expert timing to deliver decent results. Putting away just £25 a month could grow into a sizeable investment pot over time.”
If saving for retirement is your priority, then a SIPP might be your preferred choice. Or if you’d prefer a bit more flexibility, you could opt for a Stocks and shares ISA or Lifetime ISA. Many investors hold more than one account to suit their needs.
It takes minutes to set up an account with AJ Bell.
You can get in the savings habit by setting up regular monthly investments. Alternatively, you can simply top up your account with lump sums as and when you like.
Take the first step towards investing. Get the knowledge you need to invest with confidence.
Ready to put your money to work? Then you’ve come to the right place.
Cash savings hub
Not quite ready to invest, but want to grow your savings? Take your pick from our competitive cash saving accounts.
Personal finance hub
Get our experts’ views on everything, from whether to save or invest to how to decide your financial goals.
Important information: Remember that the value of investments can change, and you could lose money as well as make it. We don't offer advice, so it's important you understand the risks. If you're not sure, please speak to a financial adviser.
