In the tortoise and the hare, a renowned Aesop’s fable, the steady tortoise famously outpaces the over-confident hare. Similarly in stock market investing, firmly applying sound investment techniques over time can produce solid returns, proving more reliable than trading in and out of the market.

After a tough couple of years for the UK economy, there are grounds for cautious optimism in 2024. Inflation is coming down and the market is pencilling in interest rate cuts.

Interest rate and economically sensitive companies in the UK stock market received a good deal more interest from investors in December 2023 and January 2024, leading to strong returns, but February saw a pause to reassess.