May 28, 2018

Investment for beginners

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Many savers fed up with risible rates of return on their cash are being tempted to invest in stock markets instead. Our beginners’ guide explains what taking a punt on shares really means for your money, what and where to buy, and how much risk to take.

Investing for beginners:

What is an investment?

Shares
Bonds
Funds
Government bonds (gilts)
UK property market

Farmland
Vintage cars
Wine
Fledgling technology firms
Art, eg, paintings, sculptures

For most, investing means putting money in the stock market

How do stock markets work?

Why does a company share price rise and fall?

What kind of growth can I expect from investing?

Sector investing in…

Over one year

Over five years

Over 10 years

UK income shares

19%

85%

75%

UK company bonds

40%

76%

US stock markets

31%

128%

160%

China

48%

96%

152%

European countries (but not the UK)

32%

122%

13%

Asia (incl Japan)

37%

94%

113%

A mix of global stock markets

30%

96%

98%

ALWAYS remember the five golden rules of investing:

Is investing right for me?

How much should I set aside to put in?

How do I invest?

What is a share?

What is a fund?

Investing in an ISA should ALWAYS be your first port of call

How do I research what to invest in?

Hargreaves Lansdown*

It has a helpful and easy-to-navigate website jam-packed with free information about funds – and you can make the most of this whether you sign up to buy funds or not.

Interactive Investor

Interactive Investor has a wide range of information, including

beginners’ guides

on a range of investments and a glossary of terms you might come across while you’re researching investments.

Bestinvest

Bestinvest’s research team looks at more than 85,000 funds and compiles research on a monthly basis.

Charles Stanley Direct*

The market data section of this website breaks down lists of FTSE companies and allows you to check performance for any time period from one day to three years.

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