4 roadblocks to investing (and how to overcome them)
Written and accurate as at: May 06, 2026 Current Stats & Facts
A century ago, investing was something reserved for a small, wealthy cohort – mostly bankers and industrialists – who had knowledge and access to financial markets that the average person lacked.
A lot has changed since then, and thanks to some dazzling developments in technology – and a short-lived period of ultra-low interest rates – investing has skyrocketed into the mainstream.
But despite the lower barriers to entry, many Australians still feel a sense of apprehension. Here are four common reasons Aussies are sitting on the sidelines, and some practical ways to overcome them.
Not enough money
One of the most common beliefs holding people back from investing is the idea that you need to already be wealthy. But the reality is you can get started with far more modest amounts.
There are several platforms these days built around the idea that you don’t need a large lump sum to invest. Some even round up your everyday purchases and direct the spare change into a ready-made portfolio for you.
And even if you’re only investing the cost of coffee each day, you can reap significant benefits over the long-term thanks to the power of compounding. This is the snowball effect your investments have when your returns start earning returns of their own.
Too risky
This one isn’t so much a misconception; investing is indeed risky and volatility is an unavoidable feature of the market. Past performance can provide useful context, but as you’ve probably already heard, it doesn’t guarantee future outcomes.
Even so, there are ways to manage the level of risk you take on, chief among them is making sure your portfolio is sufficiently diversified. Spreading your investments across different assets and industries reduces the impact if one of those assets or industries takes a hit.
Beyond that, your time horizon will also play an important role in how you manage risk. If you’re in it for the long haul – meaning you intend to buy and hold investments for several years or even decades – chances are you’ll have more time to ride out the short-term volatility that’s so characteristic of the market.
Not enough time or know-how
When you picture an investor, do you imagine someone glued to multiple screens, tracking every market movement? Or perhaps someone on a trading floor, waving their hands frantically while shouting orders? They’re both enduring images, but investing is by no means limited to those two archetypes.
In fact, there are benefits to being a little bit hands-off with things. This is at the core of what’s known as passive investing, which is a strategy that aims to maximise returns by keeping buying and selling – and all the associated costs – to a minimum.
To assist with this, many investors rely on Exchange-Traded Funds, or ETFs. These are bundles of shares or other assets that track a specific index, such as the broader Australian market. By investing in a single ETF, you gain exposure to a wide range of companies and sectors – more than the average person would have time to monitor, buy and sell on their own.
Too complicated
Some people balk at the idea of investing because they believe it’s too difficult. And to be fair, looking at a screen filled with ticker codes and prices can be overwhelming when you don’t know how to interpret it yet. Add to that all the paperwork and jargon – capital gains tax, franking credits, dividend reinvestment plans – and it’s easy to feel like you’re out of your depth.
In practice, however, investing can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. One strategy many people find useful is dollar cost averaging. This involves committing to investing a fixed amount at regular intervals, regardless of how the market is performing.
The idea here is to prioritise consistency over any complex strategies or ideas about timing the market. In theory, this will smooth out the overall cost of your purchases, as you wind up buying more shares when prices are lower and fewer when prices are higher.
As for the paperwork and tax obligations, many investing platforms provide tax statements at the end of each financial year, and a lot of the important details will often be pre-filled on your tax return. This will hopefully make tax time easier, but if things are still a bit too confusing, you could always enlist the help of an accountant.
