Hesitant over a Stocks and Shares ISA? Here’s a way to deal with scary markets

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The new Stocks and Shares ISA season is off to a disappointingly hesitant start, reports the Financial Times. I’m not really surprised considering the shocks that stock markets have been suffering.

The FTSE 100 has climbed close to 11,000 points, slumped back below 9,700, and it’s back around 10,600 at the time of writing.

Try telling new investors the stock market is all about slow and steady appreciation of wealth — and not quick gains and losses? I’d expect a dirty look, quickly followed by a view of their back.

Take things easy

We shouldn’t worry at all if we suffer short-term losses? Coming from an experienced investor, that could easily sound a big smug. I remember when I started out. And seeing early falls was scary. In fact, even after all these years, it still is a bit.

When one of my stocks drops in price, it makes me question my decision — and I worry if I’ve hit one of my bad ones. So what should I really say to Stocks and Shares ISA beginners at times like this?

Everyone should approach investing in a way they feel comfortable. And if that means holding off when prices are up and down daily, that’s just fine. Early losses could put a newcomer off for life.

Get the cash in

But we don’t need to shun an ISA completely. We can still transfer cash over to our ISA account, with no requirement to buy shares by any deadline — or any time at all. We can take as long as we like, even years if we need it, before we decide what to actually go for.

Keeping away from an ISA can lose us the opportunity to build up some cash now, while we wait for our confidence in the stock market to settle. And every pound we can stash away today can help build up to a tidy sum by the time we retire.

When we’re ready to buy some shares, we can hopefully benefit from fallen prices. I’m drawn to house builders, like Barratt Redrow (LSE: BTRW), right now.

Barratt is down 31% so far in 2026 — and 67% over five years. It’s been hit by just about everything that’s going economically wrong with the world. High inflation leading to rising costs of construction materials? Check. Demand hit by high interest rates? Check. Hopes for rate falls evaporating? That too.

Shares going cheap

But years of share price falls have pushed Barratt’s valuation way down. We’re looking at a forecast price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of around 10. And that would fall as low as seven by 2028, if forecasts are accurate. Now, forecasts can be wrong. But a trend like that could value Barratt at less than half the current FTSE 100 average.

Oh, and there’s a forward dividend yield of 6.6% on the cards.

The short-term outlook doesn’t appear great, I have to be honest. And we might see more falls. But as part of a diversified selection of UK shares, I really do think long-term Stocks and Shares ISA investors could to well to consider Barratt. When they feel comfortable enough to take the plunge, that is.

The post Hesitant over a Stocks and Shares ISA? Here’s a way to deal with scary markets appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

More reading

• 2 superb FTSE 100 stocks to buy before the next bull market, according to experts!
• With prices forecast to soar 66% (or more), consider these 3 value stocks to buy for an ISA in 2026
• FTSE 100 stocks: the biggest winners and losers of Q1 2026
• Down 32% and with a P/E of 8.1, is this FTSE 100 share too cheap to ignore?
• Homebuilders down 30%! Is the UK stock market heading for a 2008-style crash?

Alan Oscroft has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Barratt Redrow. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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