I know. This is an investment column, and I am poised to advocate for that inferior cousin, cash. So, first up, the facts.

Investing, over the long term, typically delivers you much better returns than cash. Superior annual returns, the power of compounding, and – if you’re clever and don’t put all your eggs in one basket – diversified sources of income and growth. Lovely.

Drip feed that money into the market over time and you benefit from pound cost averaging, buying units or shares whether they’re cheap when the market falls or expensive when the market is up, smoothed along the way. Invest through direct debit (sometimes called regular savings) with HL, and you’ll be trading admin free, dealing fee free and without the…