10 minutes ago

Kevin PeacheyCost of living correspondent

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As the new year got into its stride, so did the UK’s index of leading shares.

The FTSE 100 climbed above 10,000 points for the first time since it was created in 1984, cheering investors - and the chancellor, who wants more of us to move money out of cash savings and into investments.

The index tracks the performance of the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange and rose by more than a fifth in 2025.

But with many people still struggling with everyday costs, and with talk of some stocks being overvalued, does the FTSE’s success really make it a good time to encourage first-time investors?

Investing v saving

People can invest their money in many different ways and in different things. Various apps and platforms have made it easy to do.

Crucially, the value of investments can go up and down. Invest £100 and there is no guarantee that the investment is still worth £100 after a month, a year, or 10 years.

But, in general, long-term investments can be lucrative. The rise of the FTSE 100 is evidence of that. Shareholders may also receive dividends, which they could take as income or reinvest.

For years, the advice has been to treat investments as a long-term strategy. Give it time, and your pot of money will grow much bigger than if it was in a savings account.

In contrast, cash savings are much more steady and safe. The amount of interest varies between account providers, but savers know what returns will be. Savings rates have held up quite well over the last year, but interest rates are generally thought to be on the way down.

Savings accounts are popular when putting money aside for emergencies, or for holidays, a wedding or a car - for one predominant reason: you can usually withdraw the money quickly and easily.

"It is important that everyone has savings. It gives you access when you need it," says Anna Bowes, savings expert at financial advisers The Private Office (TPO).

"It means you do not need to cash out your investments at the wrong time."

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Evangelists for investing agree that savings are an important part of the mix for everyone managing their money.

"People starting out should have a cash buffer in case of emergency before going into investing," says Jema Arnold, a voluntary non-executive director at the UK Individual Shareholders Society (ShareSoc).

One in 10 people have no cash savings, and another 21% have less than £1,000 to draw on in an emergency, according to the regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

But Arnold and others point out that cash is not without risk either. As time goes on, the spending power of savings is eroded by the rising cost of living, unless the savings account interest rate beats inflation.

Risk and reward

Our brains make a judgement about risk and reward thousands of times every day. We consider the risk of crossing the road against the reward of getting to the other side and so on.

With money, those who are more risk-averse have tended to stick with savings, while others have moved into investments. It also helps if you have money you can afford to lose.

It is worth remembering that millions of people already have money for their pension invested, although it is often managed for them and they may not pay much attention to it.

The FCA says seven million adults in the UK with £10,000 or more in cash savings could receive better returns through investing.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has advocated more risk-taking from consumers. For those with the money, she says the benefit of long-term investing for them, and the UK economy as a whole, is clear.

She is altering rules on tax-free Isas (Individual Savings Accounts) in a much-debated move aimed at encouraging investing.

It is also why, in a couple of months’ time, we are all going to be blitzed with an advertising campaign (funded by the investment industry) telling us to give investing some thought.

It will be a modern version of the Tell Sid campaign of the 1980s, which encouraged people to invest in the newly privatised British Gas.

British Gas

The Tell Sid campaign was considered to be a success

But is this a good time for such a campaign? Back then, lots of people invested in British Gas for a relatively quick profit.

Invest now, and there is a chance the value of your investment could take a short-term hit.

A host of commentators have suggested an AI tech bubble is about to burst. In other words, they say there is a chance the value of companies heavily into AI has been over-inflated and will plunge - meaning anyone investing in those companies will see the value of those investments plunge too.

It isn’t only commentators. The Bank of England has warned of a "sharp correction" in the value of major tech companies. America’s top banker Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of US bank JP Morgan, said he was worried, and Google boss Sundar Pichai told the BBC there was "irrationality" in the current AI boom.

In truth, nobody really knows if and when this will happen.

New rules on getting investment help

All of this may leave people keen for some help, and the regulator has come up with plans to allow banks to offer some assistance.

Currently financial advice can be expensive, and regulated advisers may not bother with anyone who hasn’t got tens of thousands of pounds to invest.

Financial influencers have tried to fill the gap on social media. Some have been accused of promoting financial schemes and risky trading strategies with glitzy get-rich-quick promises in front of fancy cars - but without authorisation or any explanation of the risks involved.

Some first-time investors have turned to AI for tips. Some are vulnerable to fraudsters offering investment opportunities that are too good to be true.

Nearly one in five people turned to family, friends or social media for help making financial decisions, according to a survey by the FCA.

So, from April, registered banks and other financial firms will be allowed to offer targeted support, preferably for free. It will stop short of individually tailored advice, which can only be provided by an authorised financial adviser for a fee. But it will allow them to make investment and pensions recommendations to customers based on what similar groups of people could do with their money.

It is a big change in money guidance but, as with investments, no guarantees that it will be successful.