Dear Moral Money,

I became interested in investing at the start of the pandemic and made a lot of money buying fast-growing companies which boomed as the world became more digital.

My Moderna, Peloton, Zoom and Ocado shares all more than doubled and I became convinced that the future would be completely digital and medicine had changed forever. In my head there was no way of losing money and I told all my friends and family to invest in the stock market, even though they had never done it before.

My partner said she was interested in buying stocks but did not want to choose them herself, so she trusted me with the money. I set up a stockbroker account for her and invested her £20,000 Isa allowance into tech firms. The money had been sitting in a cash savings account previously as she is cautious with money. 

But since investing at the start of last year, the market for fledgling technology stocks has crashed because of the threat of inflation and rising interest rates. I fear I bought during a bubble and have now lost half her money. 

I have not sold any shares yet and think over the long term my stocks will be winners – but do I need to tell her that she is sitting on a £10,000 paper loss?

JB, via email

You are not the only investor to have been caught up in the bubble of barely profitable technology firms. 

Until the start of last year there seemed to be no end to the stock price rises for the companies that boomed during lockdown. Many were touted by experts as the clear beneficiaries of the new digital world that had a long runway of growth ahead of them.

But it appears the rosy outlook was too good to be true and a large cohort of stocks popular with first-time investors have proved to be overpriced.

Investing on behalf of someone else adds extra stress to any price falls. Stock markets are outside of our control and tend to be determined by events we do not see coming. When fund managers say “past performance is not indicative of future results” they really mean it. 

That is not to say that prices will not return to their previous highs. That means your commitment to these shares for the long term could prove to be a winning strategy. 

However, while you may be able to accept your own short-term losses, you must tell your partner that her money has lost value since you invested.

Explain that high risk stocks offer the greatest chance of returns but also the biggest chance they will fall. Not telling your partner that her money has lost so much value just buries the issue and will increase the burden on your shoulders.

You should share the news and then decide on a new investment strategy together, so that you share the responsibility for how the investment account performs.

You may decide together to continue to back technology stocks or to take a lower risk approach. Whatever the outcome, any further falls will be easier to stomach. 

What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below and by emailing moralmoney@telegraph.co.uk.

You can also put any question to us (and anonymously) by using the email address above.