As you might have gathered from the headline, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has just capped off a very successful financial year in FY2023. Over the financial year just gone, the ASX 200 rose from 6,568.1 points to 7,203.3 points, a gain worth a pleasing 9.67%.
This means that most ASX 200 investors would have banked some decent returns over the 12 months to 30 June. But for anyone who has been putting off investing in ASX shares, this might be something of a mental roadblock to pulling the trigger.
After all, we all know that you make the best returns from ASX share investing by 'buying low and selling high'. And investing into the share market after a bumper year like the one we've just enjoyed over FY2023 doesn't exactly feel like 'buying low'.
But if you've missed out on FY2023's stellar returns, there's no reason why you should regret not having more money in the share market. Sure, we'd all like to maximise our investing returns. But the share market is not a zero-sum game. Just because it had a great year last financial year, doesn't mean it won't this year.
As it happens the ASX 200 tends to go up far more than it goes down. That's why an ASX 200 index fund such as the SPDR S&P/ASX 200 Fund (ASX: STW) has averaged a return of 7.71% per annum over the past 22 years or so.
So yes, the last financial year was a strong one. But the ASX 200 has a very effective track record of delivering long-term gains to its investors.
ASX 200 investing: The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
I personally don't like the 'buy low, sell high' maxim of investing. It implies that we should all be trying to time our buys and sells, based on what the share market is doing – a tried and true method of losing money. I prefer the motto 'time in the market beats timing the market'.
It seems obvious in hindsight that we all should have had as much money as possible in ASX 200 shares over FY2023. But back in July 2022, there were still the same fears about raging inflation, rising interest rates and a possible recession floating around as there are today.
Successful investing comes down to trusting that the share market will provide the impressive, albeit inconsistent, long-term returns that it always has. So following this logic, it makes sense to have as much money invested in the ASX share market as possible, as soon as possible.
So don't regret having invested more of your cash in ASX 200 shares in FY2023. It would be far more beneficial for investors, in my view, to plan for tomorrow, rather than fretting about yesterday. FY2024 could prove to be just as lucrative for ASX investors as FY2023 has been for all we know. And this time next year, you might just be thanking your lucky stars that you finally pulled the trigger.
