Everyone knows they should invest for the long term. So why do so many investors struggle to actually do it?

In this episode of Invest in the Moment, Simon Chong, Chief Business Officer of MYTHEO (GAX MD Sdn Bhd), breaks down the behavioural side of long-term investing — the part that textbooks skip and most investors only learn the hard way.

1. Technology and AI Led the Recovery

Long-term investing sounds simple in theory: put your money in, leave it alone, and let time do the work. But in practice, markets go up and down. Headlines create panic. And the temptation to react — to sell when things look bad or chase the latest trend — is exactly what damages long-term returns.
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There's a fitness analogy that bests explains why this matters. Imagine committing to a five-year workout plan. You know that in five years, you'll be in great shape. But on a random Tuesday, your muscles are sore, your head hurts, and you can't see any visible progress. Do you quit?
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Most people wouldn't quit their fitness plan over one bad day. But many investors do exactly that with their portfolios — they abandon their long-term strategy during short-term discomfort.

2. Risk and Volatility Are Not the Same Thing

One of the most important distinctions Simon makes is the difference between risk and volatility. Most investors treat them as the same thing, but they're fundamentally different.

Volatility is the natural movement of markets — prices go up, prices go down, prices move sideways. It's temporary. It's expected. And for long-term investors, it's not something to fear.

Risk, on the other hand, is a decision you make that leads to a permanent loss. The risk isn't that the market went down. The risk is that you sold when it went down and locked in those losses forever.

The market can hurt your feelings, but only your decisions can hurt your future.

3. The Mistakes That Quietly Damage Long-Term Returns

There are five common mistakes that long-term investors tend to make:

• Selling during uncertainty. The most common and most damaging. Once you sell, you have to decide when to get back in — and most people get that timing wrong.
• Chasing trends. Following what's popular on social media or in the news rather than sticking to a sound strategy.
• Switching strategies. Jumping from one investment approach to another means you never give any single strategy enough time to work.
• Holding too much cash. Cash feels safe, but over time inflation erodes its value. Holding too much cash dilutes your long-term returns.
• Ignoring fees. Small differences in fees might not seem significant today, but compounded over 10, 20, or 30 years, they can meaningfully reduce what you end up with.

4. Three Rules to Set Before Your Emotions Take Over

Here's some practical advice for managing the behavioural side of investing comes down to three rules:

1. Make rules before your emotions kick in. If you know you tend to react emotionally to market drops, set your rules in advance. Simon compares it to being a stress eater — if you know you'll reach for snacks when you're stressed, the solution is to not have snacks in the house. Same principle: set your investment rules when you're calm, so they hold when you're not.
2. Automate your investments. Rather than trying to time the market — deciding when to buy and when to sell — set up a regular investment plan that invests automatically. This removes the daily decision-making that leads to emotional mistakes.
3. Match your investment horizon with your goal. Short-term money shouldn't be in risky investments. If your goal is 20 years away, build a portfolio that can ride out the ups and downs. If your goal is two years away, adjust accordingly.

5. Four Myths About Long-Term Investing

There are also four common misconceptions that hold people back from starting:

• Myth 1: You need a lot of money to start. You don't. Platforms like MYTHEO allow you to start investing with as little as RM100 and set up a regular investment plan from RM100 per month.
• Myth 2: You need to time the entry perfectly. In the context of long-term investing, time in the market matters more than timing the market. Waiting for the "perfect" moment often means never starting at all.
• Myth 3: Diversification dilutes your returns. Diversification isn't about maximising returns — it's about reducing the chances of making irrational decisions. When your portfolio isn't swinging wildly, you're more likely to stay invested.
• Myth 4: Long-term investing requires constant involvement. It's actually the opposite. Long-term investing is meant to be boring. Set up the right structure, follow the discipline, and let the process run.

6. Long-Term Investing in a nutshell

Long-term investing is like planting a tree. You don't dig it out every day to check whether it's growing.

Planting a tree requires discipline — watering the plant, trimming the dead leaves, and being patient. You don't look at it every day.

What you need to do is follow a set of discipline to ensure you reach your destination.

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