How much risk should I take?
It depends on your circumstances and we can't offer advice, but our free risk explorer might help you decide. Some key things to consider are:
How long you're investing for. If you might need your money back within the next few years then investing is probably not for you. If you can leave your money away for 5 years or more then there should be time to ride out any short term stock market volatility.
How much you can afford to lose money. There is always a risk that you'll get back less than you put in and if you really can't afford to lose money then investing is probably not for you. People usually keep at least 3 months' income in accessible savings and pay down any outstanding debts before even considering investing.
What you feel comfortable with. Investing can be a bit worrying, as the value of your investment will go up and down from day-to-day. If you'll find this very stressful then it might be that investing is not for you, even though the longer term returns can be significantly better than cash savings.
Our free risk explorer helps compare the projected returns you might get if you take different levels of risk with your investment.