Investing regularly has further advantages compared to lump sum investing. By drip feeding money into a fund regularly you will avoid investing all of your money at the peak of the market, when prices are high. However, you also miss the opportunity to invest at the bottom of the market, when prices are cheaper. For more information, see IMA's factsheet "Monthly Savings".

Saving £20 per month over a 15 year period into an average Building Society Account allows an investment to grow consistently. If the same amount is saved every month in a UK ALL Companies Fund, the value of the investment will fluctuate with the performance of the stock market. For example, the above chart shows that in 2002 when the markets suffered a downturn after 9/11, the value of an investment in a UK All Companies Fund was lower than the investment in an average Building Society Account. By 2007, however, investment in a UK All Companies Fund had outperformed that in a Building Society Account by just over £3,000.