An article written exclusively for the London Investor Show, by Rodney Hobson, Author of Shares Made Simple, a Beginner's Guide to the Stockmarket*

Rarely does it look a good time to invest in shares. If all is right with the world, share prices soar and look expensive; in disasters, share prices fall and look as if they will continue to slide.

Yet rarely is there a bad time to buy shares as the market has a remarkable way of adjusting for changed circumstances. If prices have risen, making shares more expensive, there is the prospect of higher dividends to compensate; if shares look cheap you get more of them for your money.

Two events in particular pop out over the past 20 years. The stockmarket crashes on both sides of the Atlantic after the banking crisis of 2007-8 presented a wonderful opportunity, though it took a brave soul to take advantage. Yet anyone building a share portfolio in 2009 was soon well ahead.

Seven years later Europe woke up to discover that Britain had voted to leave the European Union, slashing 500 points off the FTSE100 Index at the opening bell. This opportunity was exceptionally short-lived: 300 points had been recovered by the end of the day and the temporary dip is hard to find on any chart of the index covering the past 20 years.

The relentless gains in share prices over time is, however, only half the story. Most companies pay two dividends every year. This regular, generally increasing income, is roughly equal to the capital gains that investors make from share price rises. You stand to win twice over.

Too many people with money to invest stash cash into savings accounts, where the interest paid is rarely equal to the rate of inflation and there are no capital gains. Their cash is eaten away by inflation. They believe, wrongly, that buying shares is complicated, yet the process has never been easier or cheaper thanks to modern technology.

You can easily find trading platforms on the Internet. If you want to be an active investor, find one with low dealing charges; if, as is the case with most new investors, you want to be more passive then find one with lower monthly or quarterly charges even if you pay more per trade.

Set up an ISA account as well as a trading account and put your full ISA allowance, if you can afford it, into the ISA account, which should be your main account even if you are not currently a taxpayer. Try to spread investments into different sectors, such as one bank, one housebuilder, one industrialist, one retailer.

Make sure you are fully informed. This does not mean necessarily buying the Financial Times every day. Several newspapers cover stock markets in sufficient detail for the ordinary investor. Look for recommendations to buy but you must exercise your own judgement. Nobody else knows quite what you are looking for in terms of income or capital gains; no-one else knows how much you can afford to tie up; nobody but you knows what level of risk you want to take.

Start with companies making consistent profits and paying regular dividends, dividends that are at least stable and preferably rising steadily.

Every decision in life carries some element of risk and shares are no exception but stock market investing is not like gambling, where for every winner that has to be at least one loser. Companies earn profits that are paid into the dividend pot. There do not have to be losers and certainly there are more winners than losers on the stock exchange.

The sooner you start investing, the sooner you start to acquire your share of the wealth that is created by companies the world over. Start getting your share now.

Don´t forget to book a ticket to the London Investor Show on Friday 30th October 2026, where you can meet other investors, attend seminars and workshops on selecting shares and building a portfolio and learn more about managing your money for a solid financial future.

* if you wish to purchase a copy of Rodney´s book, you can do so HERE

© Rodney Hobson 2026.