23 is the best age to start investing in stocks and shares a study conducted by Fool.co.uk has revealed, but investors past this age should not dwell on this, and invest now while shares are cheap, the financial site advises.

The research found that although the typical age that people start to invest their cash is 32, investors believe that the best possible age to start is nine years earlier, at 23 years old.

According to Fool.co.uk, those who start investing £100 a month in the stock market at the age of 23 could have a pot worth £537,868 by the time they are 65. However, delaying this by just one year could cause the pot to fall to £491,401.

Overall, the study found that men start investing at the average age of 29, while more cautious women wait until they are 33. But both agree they should have started earlier.

And, it seems the older and wiser an investor is, the younger they think they should have begun their investment plan, as those in their sixties think they should have started aged 22.

Commenting, David Kuo, head of investing at Fool.co.uk, said: “Investors are telling us that if they knew then what they know now, they could be much wealthier. And they say they should have started investing in shares nine years earlier,

“But looking back at what might have been is pointless. So, disregard current market turmoil and invest now for the future because shares are currently cheap,” Mr Kuo advised.

“As the old investment adage goes it is time in the market rather than timing the market that’s vital.”

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