A range of funds for the medium- to long-term

Investment bonds are designed to produce medium- to long-term capital growth, but can also be used to give you an income. They also include some life cover. There are other types of investment that have ëbondí in their name (such as guaranteed bonds, offshore bonds and corporate bonds) but these are very different. With an investment bond, you pay a lump sum to a life assurance company and this is invested for you until you cash it in or die. Read the rest of this entry »

Reflecting popularity in the market

An investment trust is a company with a set number of shares. Unlike an open-ended investment fund, an investment trust is closed ended. This means there are a set number of shares available, which will remain the same no matter how many investors there are. This can have an impact on the price of the shares and the level of risk of the investment trust. Open-ended investment funds create and cancel units depending on the number of investors. Read the rest of this entry »

Participating in a wider range of investments

Unit trusts are collective investments that allow you to participate in a wider range of investments than can normally be achieved on your own with smaller sums of money. Pooling your money with others also reduces the risk. Read the rest of this entry »

Expanding and contracting in response to demand

Open-Ended Investment Companies (OEICs) are stock market-quoted collective investment schemes. Like investment trusts and unit trusts they invest in a variety of assets to generate a return for investors. They share certain similarities with both investment trusts and unit trusts but there are also key differences. Read the rest of this entry »

Acting in the investorsí best interests at all times

Open-ended investment funds are often called collective investment schemes and are run by fund management companies. There are many different types of fund. These include: Read the rest of this entry »

Investing in one or more asset classes

Investing in funds provides a simple and effective method of diversification. Because your money is pooled together with that of other investors, each fund is large enough to diversify across hundreds and even thousands of individual companies and assets. A pooled (or collective) investment is a fund into which many people put their money, which is then invested in one or more asset classes by a fund manager. Read the rest of this entry »

Active and passive investing

Collective investment schemes can be actively or passively managed. Moreover, both investment strategies can be complementary to each other and are frequently used side by side by investors. Read the rest of this entry »

Increasing the long-term value of your investments

In the light of more recent market volatility, itís perhaps natural to be looking for ways to smooth out your portfolioís returns going forward. Investing regularly can smooth out market highs and lows over time. In a fluctuating market, a strategy known as pound-cost averaging can help smooth out the effect of market changes on the value of your investment and is one way to achieve some peace of mind through this simple, time-tested method for controlling risk over time. Read the rest of this entry »

Remember your reasons for investing in the first place

Stockmarkets can be unpredictable. They move frequently – and sometimes sharply – in both directions. It is important to take a long-term view (typically ten years or more) and remember your reasons for investing in the first place. Read the rest of this entry »

Risk is an implicit aspect to investing

If you are going to invest you need to be prepared to take some calculated risk in the hope of greater reward. Risk is an implicit aspect to investing, shares can fall, economic conditions can change and companies can experience varying trading fortunes. Read the rest of this entry »