Investing in uncertain times

As we experience volatile markets, we understand that clients may be feeling anxious about the impact on their investments.

We have a range of client-facing material which can help support conversations with your clients:
 

• Putting time on your side - summarises the benefits of taking a long-term view
• When doing nothing is best - explains why staying invested through uncertain periods is usually best
• Managing investments in uncertain times - covers volatility, diversification and pound cost averaging.

We also have two short technical summaries for professionals:

For more on latest topical market insights, volatility guides and client-facing material, please visit our hub.

For clients who are invested but feeling somewhat nervous, we have various cash options available on the platform.

Our Cash Management and Product Cash Accounts pay interest on cash and may serve as a temporary safehaven for client assets. Please note, we do not charge our platform service fee on balances held within cash accounts. Find more information on current interest rates paid.

We also have a number of cash funds on the platform, which pay interest at varying levels, to view these funds, please visit our investment finder tool to discover more.

More information on cash options here.

Whilst many may feel anxious about the markets, it could also be seen by some as an opportunity to invest, especially as we approach tax year end. 

Phasing is available across our range of ISAs and Investment Accounts (including Junior ISAs and Joint Investment Accounts). It is a useful way to secure a tax-efficient ISA and/or Junior ISA allowance, for example, without immediately committing the whole amount to an investment. You can also use phasing to achieve an average price for an investment over a number of months, known as pound-cost-averaging.

Our phasing feature allows you to specify how many months you would like to phase the investment over, from 2 to 99 months.

For more on phasing options please visit Help & support.

The value of investments and the income from them, can go down as well as up, so clients may get back less than they invest. The value of benefits depends on individual circumstances. The minimum age clients can normally access their pension savings is currently 55, and is due to rise to 57 on 6 April 2028, unless they have a lower protected pension age. Different options may have different effects for tax purposes, different implications for pension provision and different impacts on other assets and financial planning.