It has never been easier to start investing. As more Brits take advantage, should you?

When you think of an investor, what kind of person comes to your mind? What are their interests and jobs? Are they an old man wearing a pinstripe suit and bowler hat?

It may surprise you that the average investor age in the UK has fallen from 55 to 49 in the last five years.

While there are more than 13 million DIY investor accounts in the UK, the average investor is more likely to look like one of your friends than someone out there. The Wolf of Wall Street.

The UK has historically been very cautious about investing, and this is something the financial sector and governments have been trying to combat for years.

We are slowly starting to see the fruits of these efforts begin to emerge; The latest Boring Money data reveals that DIY investment accounts grew by more than 19 percent last year. Roughly a third of the population now invests, up from one in four in 2020, and it is becoming more common by the day.

Start small, stay consistent; let the market do the work

It’s a common misconception that you need to have a lot of money to be an investor. The average amount invested by DIY investors is around £15,000, but you can start with as little as £1.

This doesn’t have to be done in one big stroke, either. Many providers allow you to invest regularly (usually a minimum of £25 per month), but a few allow you to invest less regularly.

It might also be a good idea to set up these automatic payments; you trickle feed into the markets and average the price at which you buy, smoothing out any ups and downs along the way.

And you don’t have to be a math genius or obsessively check the markets; There are many tools and account types that can do this for you.

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Robo-advisors are automated, algorithm-driven financial planning and investment services that require little or no human supervision. A typical robo-advisor asks questions about your financial situation and future goals when you set up your account, then matches you with one of their ready-made portfolios and automatically invests for you.

Find your investment “playlist”

If you don’t want to go the robotics route but aren’t sure which one to choose, you can take a look at some of last year’s best-selling funds for inspiration. The following four funds appeared on multiple investment platforms’ best-selling lists every month in 2025.

These are all well-diversified, low-cost collections of global stocks. Think of them as an investing playlist curated for you to offer you a selection of stocks in one easy-to-buy package.

The idea is that you can buy a single product that’s widely spread across many different companies, minimizing the risk of anything going horribly wrong.

World of Loyalty Index: A very cheap way to buy nearly 1,300 of the world’s largest companies at once; pre-wrapped into a single investment product that costs around £1.20 a year for every £1,000 invested here.

HSBC FTSE Whole World Index: A similar global option with over 3,000 companies and emerging markets, so you can also get exposure to India, China and Brazil, for example. Good if you don’t want too much exposure to the US.

Vanguard FTSE Global All Value Index: A wide variety of options. It has shares in around 7,000-8,000 companies, with a small proportion in smaller companies, around 10 per cent in emerging markets, and slightly less in the US than some of its peers – a little pricier than some trackers but still really good value – around £2.30 a year for every £1,000 invested there.

Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity: One of these has a heavier English weight; approximately 20 to 25 percent invested in the United Kingdom.

Start from scratch

If you are a complete beginner and want one of these global options to get started, you can compare platforms that allow you to purchase funds and do not cost much for a small amount. If your balance is small and you want to buy a fund like the one above, Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell are good options. Or you can open an ISA with Vanguard and transfer one of their ready-made ‘LifeStrategy’ funds into that ISA.

If you prefer to buy and sell shares or trade investment funds, Trading 212 and Freetrade are good low-cost ISA providers for smaller balances.

Investing has never been easier.

The average investor age is falling, the amount you need to invest is lower, and people are investing less but more regularly. There are many different platforms, things to invest in, and ways to invest.

People talk about “time in the market, not timing the market”; This means that if you’re in it for the long term and can afford to invest small amounts on a regular basis, you’ll be in a great place going forward. The most important thing is to start fresh and improve over time.

When investing, your capital is at risk and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance does not guarantee future results.