Letter from the Editor: The safest option might not be the safest after all…

There’s good reason for assuming that a cash savings account is the safest possible place to preserve, protect and grow your money.

Keeping your money in cash, rather than investing it means no stock market crashes to worry about, and no need to research which stocks or funds to buy: it’s just money in the bank, quietly waiting for you when you need it.

But in reality, it’s not that simple, because what was traditionally thought of as ‘playing it safe’ comes with its own risks.

New data shows that during 2025 alone, UK savers lost billions because the interest paid on their savings failed to keep up with inflation (rising prices in the shops). People’s balances didn’t fall — but what that money could actually buy, did. Millions of us lost spending power totalling billions of pounds.

Because that kind of loss happens slowly, and interest payments from the bank make it appear as though our money is still growing, it’s a loss that’s easy to miss.

So why don’t more people invest?

Investing feels like a risk, while cash feels solid and dependable.

Yet over long periods, cash has a habit of losing ground to inflation, while investing has historically given people a better chance of growing their money in real terms.

That doesn’t mean investing is risk-free. It isn’t. Markets go up and down, and there are no guarantees. But there is also a risk in standing still — especially if your long-term goals include retirement, financial independence, or simply keeping up with the cost of living.

The challenge isn’t choosing between “safe” and “risky”. It’s understanding that different risks exist — and that avoiding one often means accepting another.

The good news

Investing doesn’t have to mean all-or-nothing decisions, stock-picking bravado or sleepless nights. For many people, it starts small: a simple tracker fund, an ISA, spreading risk, and allowing the markets time to do its job.

Fidelity International last week estimated that if just a quarter of UK household cash savings had been invested instead of left in cash last year, the real value of that money could have increased by around £44 billion – even after accounting for inflation. That’s a staggering statistic.

Sometimes the biggest risk isn’t trying something different — it’s assuming the familiar option is risk-free, when it isn’t.