Savings & Investments

Deciding to save and invest

Whatever your financial goals are, you cannot plan for tomorrow until you know where you stand today. The first step of any good financial plan involves calculating your net worth. You need to measure the difference between what you own and what you owe. Once you have a better picture of your financial situation, you can start looking at the savings and investments available. Part of the reason for investing or saving is to reach your goals, but you need to be realistic when setting yourself (...) Read more

Introduction to savings and investments

There are a number of different types of saving and investment options available on the UK market. There are many reasons why you want to save such as for a regular income, for a rainy day or for a special occasion. Making decisions about your savings and investments can be confusing. To help you through this process and ensure you gain a better understanding of the type of products which may be suitable, you can find further information about saving and investments on this section of the (...) Read more

Stock market investments

A share is a small stake in a company equal in value to a fraction of the company’s authorised share capital. When you buy shares, you become joint owner of the company along with the other shareholders. Your share of ownership is proportional to the number of shares you own. This section of the website considers a number of issues linked to stock market investments, such as the London Stock Exchange, Bonds and UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable (...) Read more

Socially responsible investments

Ethical or socially responsible investment (SRI) are terms used to describe any area of the financial sector where the principles of the investor influence which organisation or venture they choose to place their money with, or how the investor uses his power as a shareholder. From the consumer’s point of view, the SRI industry is split into two types of products, catering to different types of socially responsible investors: Consumer SRI - also known as retail SRI or ethical investment Caused based SRI - also known as social investment and cause-based (...) Read more

Equity release schemes

The equity in a property is its value minus any mortgage or other loans that are owed on the property. It is now possible for older people, who own their homes to get money released from their homes by using an equity release scheme. In some circumstances, there schemes can be useful, however, they are not suitable for everyone and it is important to find out more about these schemes before entering into one. This section of the website gives you more information about equity release schemes as well as links to where you can get further information and advice before you even (...) Read more

Pooled investments

A pooled investment is a way of putting small contributions from lots of people into a single investment fund. It lets you buy a stake in a wide range of investments. There are a wide range of collective investments. For example: Unit Trusts Investment Trusts Open-Ended Investment Companies (OEICs). This session is designed to help you understand the different pooled investment funds, how they work and the best way to shop around. Read more

Life insurance policies

Life insurance companies offer savings products linked to life insurance. These insurance-linked savings products (whole of life, endowment) issue two main types of policies: Unit linked policies With-profit policies This section aims to highlight some of the key issues linked to unit linked and with-profit life insurance policies. Read more

Tax on savings and investments

If you want to successfully manage your savings and investments, you need to be familiar with the basic principles of taxation. If you really want your money to work for you, understanding tax is important. Whether you invest in shares, bonds, unit trusts or OEICs, you need to be fully aware of the taxation liability of your investments. The following pages will give you a brief overview on how taxes are levied on savings and investments in the (...) Read more