Putting $10,000 into ASX shares feels harder when the market is breaking new records almost every day.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) reached a record high of 9,213 points this week.
That surpassed the previous peak of 9,202.9 points set in late February.
Naturally, plenty of investors are now wondering whether they have missed their moment, it is a reasonable question.
I think it rests on a flawed assumption, though.
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What a record high really tells you about ASX shares
A record high is a statement about an index, not about any individual business.
The ASX 200 is a market-capitalisation weighted average of 200 companies: when it sets a record, that tells you the weighted average has never been higher.
It tells you nothing whatsoever about whether the companies inside it are expensive.
The dispersion in performance for Australian shares shows just how varied the opportunity set can be.
Consider CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL).
The former market darling has spent much of 2026 trading near decade lows after a guidance downgrade and roughly US$5 billion in flagged impairments.
The company reports its FY26 result on 18 August.
Now consider Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA).
The banking giant has been one of the reasons the index is where it is. CBA's share price performance has been exceptional since June.
One heavyweight has been crushed while the other has powered ahead.
The case for buying ASX shares anyway
History offers a blunt answer to the timing question.
Markets spend a surprising amount of their lives at or near record highs, because that is what a rising long-term trend looks like.
Waiting for a pullback sounds prudent, but in practice it often means sitting in cash while the thing you wanted to buy keeps getting more expensive.
There is also the small matter of what cash earns you.
The RBA cash rate sits at 4.35% after three increases this year.
That is a decent return on paper, but it is also barely ahead of the 3.8% headline inflation rate recorded for the year to June.
In real terms, cash is close to treading water.
A practical way to deploy $10,000
If the record high bothers you, split the decision rather than avoiding it.
Investing $10,000 across four monthly instalments removes the pressure of picking a single day.
For a lump sum going into ASX shares, a broad fund is the simplest starting point.
Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) tracks the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) across Australia's largest 300 businesses.
Buying the index means you own the CSLs alongside the CBAs, which is actually the point.
You are not required to guess which one recovers first, and historically index funds have outperformed individual stock pickers.
Foolish takeaway
Does timing matter when buying ASX shares?
It matters far less than how long investors plan to stay invested.
If your money is long-term money, the date and price at which you purchased will matter very little in a decade.
Time in the market is more important than timing the market.
