Ever thought you might want to start buying shares, but decided it might be better to wait until the economy is on a smoother trajectory?
Lots of people think that way – and end up putting off investing for years. Sometimes, in fact, they put it off so long that they never actually start investing at all!
It makes sense that people want to start investing when they think the market looks very cheap. But doing that can be harder than it seems. In fact, I think that even with all of the geopolitical and economic uncertainty we are facing at the moment, 2026 could still turn out to be a good year to start buying shares.
Here’s why.
What exactly is the stock market?
The stock market is, well… a market of stocks!
Obvious though it may sound, that is important because with hundreds of different shares to choose from, thinking of the market as a single mass can be misleading.
In good markets, some shares will soar – but others will do badly. Conversely, no matter how much the market sinks, some shares tend to do well.
Another important thing to remember is that, as Warren Buffett has said, in the short term the market is a voting machine, but in the long term it is a weighing machine.
What he means by that is that some shares can do well or poorly because they are popular or not. But, over the course of years and decades, brilliant businesses will be rewarded with a strong share price.
Like Buffett, I am a long-term investor not a speculator. So, as long as I have some margin of safety when choosing a share to buy, I do not worry about whether it then goes down in price compared to what I paid.
My approach is to try and buy into great businesses at attractive prices, then hold them for the long term.
Taking that approach, I think now could be as good a time as any for someone to start buying shares — depending on which shares they buy.
Putting the theory into practice
As an example, one share I think looks cheap relative to its long-term prospects is ticketing platform Trainline (LSE: TRN).
The Trainline price has gone up 20% in the past month. Higher oil prices could see more people using the railways, which may boost the firm’s sales.
But that still puts the share price 49% below where it stood five years ago.
Trainline has a strong position in the UK market and is using that to expand internationally. It is highly cash generative.
So, why the share price fall?
Investors are concerned about what government plans for a rival platform could do to Trainline’s sales. I do see that as a risk, but I think it could take years to materialise (if it ever does). It could even turn out to be positive for Trainline, if it can license its technology.
I have taken some profits during the recent share price rise by selling a few of my shares. But I still think Trainline offers value relative to its long-term prospects so plan to hang on to my remaining shares.
