The problem with instant gratification is that it takes too long, as the late Carrie Fisher famously noted. The gratification of becoming a millionaire also takes time, but you can get thereif youre patient. So how patient do you need to be?
Two decades and a bit
Fidelity International has put a precise number on how long it couldtake the average UK investor to become a millionaire: 22 years and five months. That isnt solong, giving ourrising life expectancy. Fidelitypoints out that the tax-efficient individual savings account (ISA) allowance rises to 20,000 from 6 April. If you invested your full ISAallowance each year, your portfolio should be worth a cool million by aroundJuly 2038.
These figures assume that the ISA allowance rises by an inflationary 2% a year. Theyalso assume your funds grow 5% a year before inflation and charges. If your portfolio grows faster than that, you could make a million thatmuch sooner.Also, many private investors will have a healthyexisting portfolio, and will already be wellon the way towards hitting that target. Millionaire-dom for the masses.
Let the snowballs roll
Better still, all that money will be free of income tax and capital gains tax if held in an ISA, making you a tax-free millionaire, which is probably the best type of millionaire of all.Fidelity investment director Tom Stevenson says the sooner you start investing the better, because your money has more time to grow. This givesyou more time to benefit from the magic of compounding, the snowball effect of generating earnings on top of previous earnings.
The disappointing truth is that it will take most investorslonger to become a millionaire, because you have to be fairly wealthy to stow away 20,000 a year. Dont give up if you cant come anywhere near that, every penny you put away is a wise investment for your future, even if you never quite hit millionaire status. You can always throw inmore as you get older.
Cashing out
The key is to start early: the first 1 you invest is the most important of all because it has more time to snowball,and grow into something big. You should also forget cash, because with the average savings account paying around 0.4%, and inflation at 1.6%, this will only destroy your money in real terms. If you had invested 15,000 in the FTSE All Share index 10 years ago, on 31 December2016 you would have had 25,769. However, if you left the money inthe average UK savings account, you would havea paltry 15,846, Fidelity calculates. Thats nearly 10,000 less.
You can start your bid for millionaire status by investing in low-cost exchange traded funds (ETFs) tracking indices such as the FTSE 100, FTSE 250 or S&P 500. At theFool, we believe thatif you have the time and the inclination, you can turbocharge your investments by building your own portfolio of individual company stocks. You know what it takes to become a millionaire, now you just have to do it.
So you want to be a millionaire? The Motley Fool can show you how.
This FREE Motley Fool report 10 Steps To Making A Million In The Marketshows exactlyhow investing in stocks and shares over the long term can make you rich.
You don’t have to be a share-picking genius, ordinary people can become astonishingly wealthy by investing in stocks and shares.
This no-obligation report shows you how to do it, step-by-step. To find out more, click here now.