Looking for potential returns, but don't know the ins and outs of the stock market? If so, investing regularly in a fund1 could be the answer for you. Which shares should you buy and sell? When? How much? You don't have to do any of that homework.
Here is how it works: when you invest in a fund you are investing in dozens or even hundreds of different shares and/or bonds in one go. Some of these funds are managed by a team of investment experts. They select the shares and/or bonds and change the fund's composition when they think it's necessary. Other funds are more passive - they follow the evolution of an index, such as the BEL20, as closely as possible.
With a standing order, you can automatically invest an amount every month in this kind of fund. So clearly, you really do not need to be an expert to invest.
¹By fund we mean "collective investment undertaking" (known as UCI). UCI is a general term for institutions that raise funds from the public and manage a portfolio of financial instruments. So, the term "fund" refers to both investment companies (known as "beveks" or "sicavs") and mutual funds, and their su-funds.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Myth 2: \"Investing is only for the rich.\""},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"Today, investing is more democratic than ever. You can start investing in a fund with as little as 10 euro per month. Even if you are investing with an amount that you consider too insignificant to be worthwhile: when it comes to investing, little things add up to make a big difference, and the earlier you start, the higher the return could be later on.
If you’re thinking that 10 euro a month is not enough to buy a share of, for example, Adidas or Amazon — you’re right, it isn’t. Fortunately, investment funds offer a solution to this problem, too. By regularly investing in a fund, you can invest with smaller amounts.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Myth 3: “Investing involves far too many risks.\""},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"Completely risk-free investing does not exist. Every investment involves a certain amount of risk. And the more risk you take, the larger the return could be. Here are a few tips:
Funds offer an excellent solution for spreading risk because they invest in dozens or even hundreds of shares and/or bonds.
Investing over a longer term will give your investments time to recover if the stock market dips for a while.
You can do this by investing a bit of your money each month.
"},"textLinks":[{"text":"Read more: How to reduce the risks of investing","url":"/en/individuals/managing-my-assets/investment-academy/investment-risk"}]},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Myth 4: “Investing takes too much time.\""},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"You can also invest even if you have little interest or time to devote to it. When you invest in a fund, you do not have to monitor the share prices of the individual stocks or make buying and selling decisions.
Your investments are also easy to arrange online, wherever and whenever you choose. You can open, pause or close your ING Easy Invest account free of charge.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Myth 5: “There is no need to invest. My money retains its value in a savings account.\""},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"Interest rates are higher, giving you more of a return on your savings than in recent years. However, this increase is not enough to compensate for the loss in purchasing power, due to inflation. If you only save, then your money can lose its value because of inflation. For example, the consumer price index, which is the best indicator of general price developments in Belgium, has increased by more than 16% since the beginning of 2021. Therefore, €1,000 at the beginning of 2021 will only have a purchasing power of €861 at the beginning of 2023!
"},"textLinks":[{"text":"Read more : Why savings lose their value","url":"/en/individuals/managing-my-assets/investment-academy/saving-and-investing-basic-concepts"}]},{"componentType":"paragraph","richBody":{"value":"²www.spaargids.be/sparen/spaartarieven.html
³Source: Economic Research, ING, May 2022.
"}},{"componentType":"sectionTitle","title":"Ready to start investing?"},{"cards":[{"cardSize":"small","cardType":"product","componentType":"productCard","image":{"extension":"jpg","original":"https://assets.ing.com/m/1abd4374aab13c43/original/easy-invest-1920.jpg","transformBaseUrl":"https://assets.ing.com/transform/cac7dea3-63db-4c1b-bc75-cbb68d0ead8e/easy-invest-1920","type":"image","width":1920},"intro":"More info on ING Easy Invest","link":{"url":"/en/individuals/investing/easy-invest"},"title":"Invest as from 10€/month"}],"componentType":"cards"}]},"hasMacro":false,"id":"ee539752-176f-4d8b-86b7-b5e896a427aa","localeString":"en-GB","mainHeaderZone":{"backLink":{"textLink":{"text":"Investing","url":"/en/individuals/managing-my-assets/investment-academy"}},"componentType":"editorialHeader","coreHeader":{"body":"There are quite a few misconceptions about investing. We have listed the five most persistent ones for you.","subtitle":"Investing is only for the rich, is too risky, requires too much time…","title":"5 myths about investing"},"date":"2025-02-10","readingTime":10},"publishDate":"2026-05-11T16:17:25.201+02:00"}}