An invest and forget strategy has proven more successful than trying to avoid financial market upsets over the long term, according to new analysis.

There is a significant cost to delaying investment decisions, and investors who wait for the ‘right time’ risk a substantial hit to their returns, the Fidelity study found.

It looked at the potential outcomes for three investors saving £100 a month between 2000 and 2025, but each taking a different approach to timing the market.

One just kept going whatever happened, another headed for the safety of cash if markets were down, while the third opted for cash while stocks wobbled before investing when markets were back on the up. 

This period held some significant challenges for investors,…