The question I get most often from people just starting to invest: 'should I wait for a market correction to start?'

Here's what the data says about waiting for the 'right time.'

A study of historical market data found that investing on the worst possible day of every year (the market peak, right before any decline) still significantly outperformed staying in cash — because the growth during good years more than compensated for buying at peaks.

The market has hit an all-time high on roughly 30% of trading days over the past century. If you wait for a correction to invest, and the market is currently near an all-time high, you are likely waiting for a scenario that may not arrive for a year or more while the market continues to rise.

The answer to 'should I wait?' is almost always no. Time in the market beats timing the market. Start with what you have, buy broad index funds, and stop checking the news for permission to invest.