25.02.22 | I'm in

In January 2011, I had a tiny bit of money up my sleeve for the first time in a long time, and I decided I wanted to start investing. Someone suggested I put my money — $1,000 — on one particular stock, and so I did, without any research of my own. The company delisted three years ago, when my shares were worth around $20 and change.

That was my entrée into the world of investing.

In 2013, I had some proper money up my sleeve, and I invested in another company, this time with some research behind me. I multiplied my initial investment by more than 10.

I also picked out a few other select stocks that I invested in.

In 2018, though, things really changed for me.

I finally had an income again (after four long years without one) and that meant I could afford to start putting money aside for investing each month when I got paid. The majority of my money went into a Spaceship Voyager portfolio — yes, in part, because I had just accepted a job at Spaceship, but also because of the pool of companies.

Now I was able to buy into a portfolio of circa 100 stocks, instead of having to do the research and come up with the diversification strategy to back a handful of others.

And then in October last year, I sold every investment I had and pooled the money with some cash I had in a high interest savings account and I bought a flat (with my partner).

This week, I started investing again. In the midst of a correction. Knowing that in the short term my investment would likely go down (which it has).

Starting in 2011, when I started investing, and fast forwarding to today, there has been plenty of turmoil, even just looking at the US stock market. In April 2011, there was a correction — just three months after I bought that first stock.

In November 2015, a selloff began that lasted until February 2016.

We saw two corrections in 2018 — including one that started right when I began investing with and working for Spaceship.

In 2020, the stock market entered a bear market due to the pandemic.

And we’re going through another correction now, a tough one.

This correction started out due to concerns over inflation in the US, among other things, but we’re now also seeing the impacts of the geopolitical environment. Tensions between Russia and Ukraine were already creating further complexity, but now that Russia has sadly invaded Ukraine and hopes of a diplomatic resolution have faded, the impacts are multifaceted and we’re seeing a steep sell-off.

The main thing to know is that it’s not just common for the stock market to ‘correct’ itself, it’s normal. This is what you should expect to see as an investor. According to Yardeni Research, the S&P 500 is in its 11th correction since the turn of the century, for example.

What has also happened in this time is that the stock market has risen. Take the S&P 500, for example. Between 21 January 2000 and 24 February 2022, it has risen 198%.

That’s not to say this isn’t really, really hard. Investing is really, really hard. It’s not for everyone.

That first stock I invested in? I lost almost every cent. I could have pulled out, recouped some of my money, and gone on my way. But then I might not have had the courage to invest again. I might not have been willing to put my money into other stocks or into my Spaceship portfolio. I might still be chugging away at saving for a house deposit.

But that one stock eventually became part of a larger, more diverse portfolio, and by sticking with it, more than ten years after I started investing, I was able to buy a place.

Now that I’ve started investing again, I’m sticking with the same strategy.

I’ll put an amount from every pay into my investments every month. And ten years from now — with, I assume, many corrections along the way — I’ll likely be in front, because the stock market does generally rise over the long term.

But that’s me and my personal goal. It’s okay to make the right choice for you and your personal goals right now. It’s also okay to feel really, really bothered by what you’re seeing happening in the market.

Just know that everything that is happening right now — the stock market correction and your concerns — is normal.