One way of taking some control over risk is to invest for longer. This allows your investment more time to grow, which should make up for the effects of any short-term market volatility.

Our research shows that the longer you stay you invested, the greater the chance you will make money. We analyzed the performance of the Saudi stock market (represented by the TASI All-Share Index) and the international stock market (represented by the MSCI World Index) over the last 20 years, looking at the different outcomes for investors holding funds for one year, five years and ten years. We considered every period of these lengths, starting in successive weeks. So in the case of the ten-year view, we had 522 possible ten-year periods to examine.

The results show that if an investment was held for just one year, there was a risk it could decline in value. In contrast, over the last 20 years a portfolio investing in the Saudi or international market that was held for ten years would never have made an overall loss.