Types of investment

Collectibles like gold and jewellery, art, antiques or fine wine can make interesting investments and might be a good way to diversify – but you need specialist knowledge to get it rig...

Buy-to-let is pretty much what it sounds like – you buy a property in order to rent it out to tenants. You should consider the property a medium to long-term investment. ...

Hedge funds are usually only open to the super-rich or to financial institutions with millions to invest – but other people can invest in certain funds which themselves invest in hedge funds. If you...

You can invest in property in two ways – directly or indirectly. Both ways involve some complicated financial issues, and one of those is tax. You should do your best to minimise tax to get the most...

You can invest in property in different ways. Find out more in this guide. When might property investments be right for you...

A few years ago, workplace savings just meant your pension – but now some companies are offering other tax efficient options, to save or invest. ...

The most popular types of investments are investment funds where your money is pooled with other investors and spread across a variety of different investments. This is called ‘diversification’ an...

A structured product ties up your money for a set time and might be designed to give you income, growth or both. Structured products are complex and can be more risky than they seem, so get prof...

Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) are listed companies that are run by a fund manager and which, in turn, invest mainly in smaller companies that are not quoted on stock exchanges. ...

Shares are one of the four main investment types, along with cash, bonds and property. They carry risk, but they can offer the highest returns. Here you can find out what they are, how to invest in sh...

All enterprises need money to start, grow, and be sustainable. However, it can be difficult for local businesses or enterprises to find the capital they need. Community Shares (also known as Withdrawa...

An investment trust is a company that raises money by selling shares to investors and then pools that money to buy and sell a wide range of shares and assets. Different investment trusts will have dif...

If you’ve used up your ISA allowance and you’re looking for other tax-efficient savings and investment options, life insurance is something you should look into. There are policy options that...

Since July 2014, ISAs (‘New ISAs’) can be used to hold stocks and shares or cash, or any combination of these, up to the current annual limit (£20,000). An ISA is a ‘wrapper’ that can be used...

If your statement shows your with-profits policy isn’t worth what you expected – or you need to access your cash before the term is up – you might be thinking of cashing in your policy early or ...

If you save regularly or invest a lump sum using a life insurance policy, you might choose to invest in a with-profits fund. These aim to give you a return linked to the stock market but with fewer up...

Investment bonds are life insurance policies where you invest a lump sum in a variety of available funds. Some investment bonds run for a fixed term, others have no set investment term. When you cash ...

An endowment policy is an investment product that you buy from a life assurance company. They are set up as regular savings plans and at the end of a set period pay out a lump sum. The policy includes...

National Savings and Investments (NS&I) Children’s Bonds used to allow you to invest a lump sum on behalf of a child under 16. However, as of 30 September 2017 these saving bonds are no longer avail...

Tracker funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are investments that aim to mirror the performance of a market index. A market index follows the overall performance of a selection of investme...

Make sure you don’t pay more tax than you need to – make the most of tax-free savings and investments for you and your children or grandchildren. ...

Unit trusts and Open-Ended Investment Companies (OEICs) are professionally managed collective investment funds. A fund manager pools money from many investors and buys shares, bonds, p...

Spread bets and CFDs are leveraged products. They are typically used to make short term bets or trades based on whether you think the price of a particular underlying asset is going to go up or ...

Fixed interest securities are a way for companies or governments to raise money by borrowing money from investors. Securities issued by the UK Government are also called ‘gilts’ or

Want to know more about Lifetime ISAs? In this guide, we answer some of the most frequently asked questions. Do my Lifet...

There are literally hundreds of different cryptocurrencies available, and all have different values. Think of them as a type of unregulated digital money although most are not particularly easy to spe...