Ece is originally from Turkey and moved to London in 2022. She worked in digital advertising before joining Meta as a client solutions manager, and recently left the company to take a break and consider what she wants to do next.
Q: What first prompted you to start investing?
A: Growing up in Turkey, I saw how quickly money could lose its value because of inflation and changes in exchange rates. When I moved to the UK, I started by putting money into savings accounts and looking for the best interest rates available.
Once I saw that my money could actually generate something rather than just sitting there, I became more interested in investing. A friend told me about Freetrade and ISAs, so I opened a general investment account and started very small. At first I would only put £1 or a few pounds into each company because, when you do not know what you are doing yet, it can feel almost like gambling.
Q: How did you become more confident as an investor?
A: I treated the beginning as a learning experience. I was reading, watching videos, and researching while investing very small amounts to see how everything worked. After a month or two, I became more comfortable and started making monthly deposits. I opened an ISA and began investing more seriously, including in the S&P 500 and individual companies. The more you learn and the more comfortable you become, the more interested you are in understanding what is happening and why.
Q: How do you think about diversification?
A: One of the first things I learned at university was not to put all your eggs in one basket, and I have carried that into investing. When I invest in one area, I often look for something different or even opposite to balance it. If I am investing in oil, for example, I might also research green energy. If I am investing in technology, I might look at something like clean water. A large part of my portfolio is in ETFs, but I have also invested across different regions and markets. I want my money spread across different things rather than depending too heavily on one company, sector or country.
Q: What has investing taught you about risk?
A: One of my favourite books is The Psychology of Money because investing is so emotional. You can research and understand probabilities, but you can never completely predict what will happen. That is why I try to spread my money across different investments and pay attention to what is happening in the market. I listen to what other investors are saying, but I also know that people online can influence sentiment, so you have to make your own decisions. I have become much more conscious of having a plan for what I would buy or sell at certain prices rather than simply reacting emotionally in the moment.
Q: How has investing changed the way you think about money?
A: It gives me a feeling of having more power over my finances. You do not have to simply watch things happen to your money and then blame somebody else. For me, it is about getting out of that victim mindset and taking control over how my money changes over time. I can try to keep ahead of inflation, make my own decisions and accept responsibility for the outcome. That feeling of control is probably the biggest emotional benefit for me.
Q: What are you ultimately investing for?
A: I want to do what is best for myself while also trying to do the best I can for society. I recently left my job, so having control over my money feels particularly important now. I am taking some time to work out what I want to do next, whether that means starting my own business or moving in another direction. Investing is part of creating that freedom. It means I can make more deliberate choices about my future rather than feeling like everything is happening to me and I have no control over it.
The people featured in these interviews are actual Freetrade customers and were remunerated for their time. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you invest. Always do your own research.
