{"id":433411,"date":"2022-01-26T14:57:07","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T14:57:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/?p=433411"},"modified":"2026-02-16T09:11:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T09:11:18","slug":"long-term-investments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/share-trading\/share-trading-guides\/strategy\/long-term-investments","title":{"rendered":"Long term investments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Long term investing is one of the best ways to increase your wealth and achieve your financial goals. The length of time you intend to keep an investment makes a big difference to your investment strategy<\/a>. Even small long term investments can mount up and have time to grow into a healthy-sized investment portfolio. <\/p>

In this guide, we explain everything you need to know about long term investments. We also take a look at some common questions like, \u201cWhich investment is good for the long term?\u201d and \u201cIs now a good time to buy stocks for the long term?\u201d.<\/p>

What is a long term investment?<\/h3>

There is no official definition of a long term investment. However, most experts usually view an investment as long term when you intend to keep it for 5 years or longer.<\/p>

The length of time you plan to keep an investment can have a big impact on your investment strategy. That\u2019s because short term investors, who need to sell their investment in under 5 years, can\u2019t afford to invest their money in higher-risk investments. They may have to sell their investment just when the market has slumped and end up making a loss on their investment.<\/p>

In contrast, long term investors can afford to accept a higher level of risk when they invest, in the hope that they\u2019ll get greater long term rewards. The long term growth of their investment is more important than shorter term slumps in value.<\/p>

Different types of long term investment<\/h3>

Here are some popular types of long term investments:<\/p>