Gabriel Nussbaum
‘That Money Guy’
It sounds dramatic, but for a lot of young people in the UK, it doesn’t feel far from reality. The average home in England costs around eight times the average salary, and well over ten times in London.
The average first-time buyer is 34, the oldest in two decades. A generation ago, the maths looked very different.
So this generation has built a different route. Investing is this generation’s property. It’s the long-term plan that doesn’t require a deposit, the asset you can buy with £1 and the place where ‘saving for the future’ actually happens.
The future of UK investing won’t be defined by people who pick the perfect fund or time the market; it’ll be defined by people who actually start.
For some, it’s still a path back to home ownership. For others, it’s a plan that doesn’t depend on it. Either way, it’s the new default.
And for the first time, it’s genuinely accessible. You can open a Stocks and Shares ISA in minutes. You can invest in companies worldwide from your phone. You can automate it so money goes in every month in the background. A decade ago, none of that existed in any meaningful way. The democratisation of investing isn’t coming; it’s already here.
Here’s the catch. While it’s easier than ever, people still aren’t doing it.
Most under-30s I speak to know what an ISA is. They’ve heard of index funds. They understand, broadly, that investing matters. They just haven’t started.
And even for those who do, the challenge is rarely technical; it’s emotional. The fear of getting it wrong. The instinct to check the app every day. The temptation to wait for the ‘right time,’ which never quite arrives. I started investing at 22, and even as someone who teaches the subject, it took me years to feel comfortable, to stop checking my phone daily.
Which is why starting earlier matters more than anything else. The future of UK investing won’t be defined by people who pick the perfect fund or time the market; it’ll be defined by people who actually start.
Open the account. Pick a global index fund. Set up a direct debit, even for a pound.
Stay consistent.
It isn’t easy.
But it is simple.
