How to use auto-invest in an investing strategy
Have you heard of the “set-and-forget” investing strategy? You can do this by setting up an auto-invest order, pairing it with an automatic payment from your bank account, and leaving it to do its thing. 😎
Of course, this doesn’t mean you forget about your investment entirely! It’s useful to check in now and then to review your Portfolio and decide what to do with your dividends if you receive them. Setting and forgetting with auto-invest is one way to stay on track in between check-ins and reach your financial goals.
Invest regularly, without the guesswork
With over over 8,000 investments on the Sharesies platform, you might not know what you want to invest in. With auto-invest, you can create up to three separate DIY orders from a range of US, Australian, and New Zealand investments, and choose a pre-made order made up of a range of ASX-listed investments.
Auto-invest also makes it easier to invest regularly. Once you’ve picked your order and set up an automatic payment, the entire order process is automated—from topping up money from your bank account, to making an investment on the Sharesies platform. (Time to kiss those phone reminders goodbye. 😘)
Dollar-cost averaging
This is an investment strategy we’ve mentioned before—by investing the same amount on a regular basis, regardless of what the share price is, you can average out the ups and downs of the share market (rather than catching the market at a specific high or low point). You might buy shares at a higher price one week, and at a lower price the next week, but these can even out over time.
Dollar-cost averaging saves you the trouble of trying to time the market—which even the best investment professionals struggle to do! And by automating this process through auto-invest, it can be even easier to stick to your investment strategy.
You can’t miss what you don’t have
If you pay income tax, you probably know roughly how much money lands in your wallet each payday, but you might have a less clear idea of how much you’re paying in taxes, student loan repayments, and superannuation contributions each pay cycle. That’s because you never really see these payments going out of your account. They get paid before the money reaches your bank account so it doesn’t ‘feel’ like you’re paying them, even though they go out like clockwork!
The same principle can apply to investing. If you set the automatic payment for your auto-invest order to go out the minute you get paid, you’re less likely to notice it’s gone. This means you can work towards your investment goals without having to adjust your day-to-day spending too much. 🛒
Build up over time
Your investment goal may be big, small, or somewhere in between. No matter how large it is, auto-invest can help you steadily work towards it by breaking your goal into smaller, more regular amounts. For example, if you set an auto-invest for $20 a week, you’d have invested over $2,000 in 2 years—and possibly more if you get compound returns along the way!
Wrap up
Now that you know what the ‘set-and-forget’ approach is all about, you can put your knowledge to work! If you want to give auto-invest a go, log in to your Sharesies app, choose an order, set up an automatic payment from your bank to keep your Wallet topped up, and sit back while auto-invest works its magic! Be sure to check in every now and then—it’s about forgetting for now, not forgetting forever.
Ok, now for the legal bit
Investing involves risk. You aren’t guaranteed to make money, and you might lose the money you start with. We don’t provide personalised advice or recommendations. Any information we provide is general only and current at the time written. You should consider seeking independent legal, financial, taxation or other advice when considering whether an investment is appropriate for your objectives, financial situation or needs.
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