One of the questions we are most often asked by potential investors is a simple one - 'is now a good time to invest?'.

In a recent edition of our monthly premium client newsletter The Big Picture, Stephen Sutherland, our Chief Investment Strategist, wrote:

“My take is and has been for some time now that the market over the next decade will outperform. There are numerous facts and statistics that point to the likelihood of outperformance and the behaviour of the market over the last three years gives me even more reasons to believe a stock market boom may have already begun. My belief is the ‘boom period’ started back in 2009.”

People who like ISACO’s Investment Guidance Service brochure normally ask ‘how’ we’ve helped our clients achieve market beating performance.

We have been successful in helping our clients achieve better ISA performance by offering investment guidance from an investor who has historically ‘beaten’ the stock market. Using a talented investor with a great track record has proved to be ISACO’s secret weapon.

Today I’d like to talk more about the second of my top ten tips for successful ISA investing which is ‘Be Active’ (for more on my other nine tips, please just download our Top 10 Tips for Successful ISA Investing).

Whenever I talk about timing the market, I normally mention my dislike for the ‘buy and hold’ strategy.  I prefer active ISA investment.

It’s a fact, the amount of capital growth you achieve each year will directly impact the time it takes to achieve your ISA and SIPP goals. 

When you look at the definition of capital growth, you’ll see that it’s the increase in the market price of an asset. This is also known as its ‘capital appreciation’. However to keep things simple, I’ll be referring to capital growth as the annual gains an investor makes each year in their ISA and SIPP portfolio.

When we help investors plan for the future, we take them through our Investment Appraisal process. This has many similarities to a portfolio analysis, but with the particular needs of ISA and SIPP investors in mind.