Tim (31) invests in shares

“I started investing when I was 20. Someone I was studying with was doing it, and that got me interested. I enjoyed following the latest economic news on sites like Fd.nl and Bloomberg.com and making my next move based on that. I kept an eye on high-potential investments by following Twitter hashtags, so I could see whether other investors thought the shares were good or bad. I also joined platforms like Tradingview.com to read their technical analyses, which use trends to predict share price movements. I’d decide whether to buy or sell based on that information. I wasn’t investing lots at the time – about €50 euros a month –– and wasn’t making much return either. Quite the contrary: active investing can actually lose you money at first. You’ve literally got to pay your dues.”

“I made that classic rookie mistake: letting my emotions get the better of me. If a share I’d bought didn’t behave as forecast, I used to sell it the same day. But if you have a plan, you should stick with it. Once I became better at staying committed, my number of wins went up. But active investing was a drain on my time and energy, so when I started working full-time and couldn’t keep it up, I switched to a less active investment approach. Now I’m a much calmer investor.”

“I taught myself everything I needed to know by reading financial independence blogs, which have tons of information about investing. After doing some research, I chose to invest in ETFs. They’re a tracker fund that follows a specific market index and replicates the performance of that underlying market. I invest part of my money in a World ETF, which spreads your investments throughout the global economy and limits your risk. Another part is invested in an Emerging Markets ETF. Although this is a bit riskier, I’m confident that these emerging markets will develop in the future and yield higher returns than the World ETF. I very occasionally buy a specific share, the last one being in Tesla. But that’s only because I’m a fan of the brand.”

There are risks associated with investing. You could lose all or part of your initial investment.

“Passive investing requires a long-term mindset. I used to let my emotions get the better of me, but now I keep a level head when the road gets bumpy. These times of soaring inflation and energy prices are no exception. If you look at the past 30 years, you’ll see that shares are resilient and usually rise in value in the long term.”

“I invest about 10% of my monthly salary in ETFs. It’s what I can comfortably afford after deducting my outgoings and other expenses. I log in every month to buy extra shares, and let the tracker do its work.

The yield will increase over time, so I should end up with a nice sum after 30 years. The earlier you start investing, the more your money can grow. In retrospect, I would’ve started investing as soon as I turned 18! Last year, on my advice, my girlfriend started investing in a World ETF each month. She’s also adopted my mindset: don’t get distracted, focus on the long term.”

“I want to use the accrued value of my investments to top up my pension, so I can live a more comfortable life later on. I don’t necessarily want to retire early, but it’d be nice to have more financial freedom to decide how I work. It’d be great if I could work three days as a software engineer and fill the other two days with something completely different.

My tip to non-investors would be to start now rather than later! You’ll have longer to enjoy the yield, which will go up as time goes on. Focusing on the long term and investing monthly lets you ride out rough patches and improves the chances of your investment increasing in value.”

There are risks associated with investing. You could lose all or part of your initial investment.

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