When Is The Best Time To Get Into Markets?

The best time to start investing was yesterday and the next best is today. Time in the market and the compounding effect over many years outweighs the impact of market volatility

Markets are noisy right now. Headlines shout, social media feeds are spiking and tensions are high. Try not to feel anxious. We have all heard “it is time in the market, not timing the market” that does the heavy lifting for your wealth.

When you let compounding work over many years (not 1 or 2), the daily movements matter far less than the discipline of getting and staying invested.

Why starting now beats waiting

• Uncertainty is permanent.  There is always a reason to hesitate, especially as South Africans.  We are faced with so much uncertainty around our own political and economic landscape and now we can add the uncertainty of geopolitics.  Investors who sit out waiting for calm often miss the early stages of recoveries that drive long term returns‑.
• A plan beats a prediction.  You do not need a perfect forecast. You need a repeatable process and structure of what to buy, how much and how often, in order to remove emotions from investing.
• Phased entry lowers regret.  If investing a lump sum all at once feels daunting, use a phased approach or regular contributions. This way, you will invest at various price points and avoid the stress of trying to perfectly time the market.
• The retirement reality: you will not drawdown all at once.  Retirement is not a finish line and cash‑out scenario, it is a long series of bite‑size withdrawals (income) spread over 20–30 years. That means that you are not liquidating or withdrawing on one volatile day. Instead, you are drawing steadily, while the rest of your portfolio remains invested to grow for the later years. When you have played the long game, the market’s current volatility tends to even out by the time you are making those regular withdrawals.

A practical way to navigate this is a “bucketed” or cash‑flow ladder approach:

• Short-term needs (0–2 years): hold in cash or low ‑volatility assets to fund income with confidence.
• Mid-term needs (3–7 years): hold balanced assets to replenish the short-term bucket.
• Long-term growth (7+ years): keep growth assets working to ensure purchasing power is protected over your lifetime in retirement.

This structure helps you stay invested through ups and downs, knowing your next monthly income is not at the mercy of tomorrow’s headline.

What can you do now

1. Start (or restart) today. Set up an automated monthly contribution and build the habit, which will do the work in the long run.
2. Deliberately diversify.  As a client of Veritas, you will already be exposed to different asset managers, asset classes and investment styles, so no single narrative can derail your plan.
3. Match money to timelines. Short term cash needs (Holidays, income etc) separated from long term – growth. (see previous article on “Giving Your Money a “Why” Matters”  https://veritaswealth.co.za/news/giving-your-money-a-why-matters/)
4. Review annually, not daily. Checking in daily on your investments may cause unnecessary stress and moving in and out of the markets can be costly.
5. Talk to your Financial Planner. A personalised and professional financial plan turns general life and market noise into a manageable to do list.

You do not need a perfect entry point – you need a plan that keeps you invested.  Start, stay the course and let time do what timing cannot.