magazine archive


magazine archive

First-time Investor

Everything you need to know about picking ETFs

Thursday 07 May 2020

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are a good starting point for investors looking to gain low-cost exposure to a broad range of financial markets. They enable you to track various groups of companies, bonds or commodities from around the world. Ultimately ETFs can provide the building blocks of a...

Most commodities and all cryptocurrencies do not suit new investors

Thursday 30 Apr 2020

When you see adverts talking about how you can make a mint quickly by ‘trading the markets’, if they are not referring to foreign exchange then they are typically focused on commodities and cryptocurrencies. While a majority of us might know what cryptocurrencies are (or at least think we do – more...

How and why you might invest in property

Thursday 23 Apr 2020

As an asset class it has taken a battering in the wake of 2020’s coronavirus crisis but there are a number of reasons why investors might consider property as part of a diversified portfolio over the long term. First of all, as a physical asset class its performance tends to diverge from equities...

Everything you need to know about bonds

Thursday 16 Apr 2020

What are bonds and why investors might want to hold them in their portfolios? Whereas a share is literally just that, a share in the profit generated by a company, a bond is an ‘IOU’ which companies make to investors. It typically carries a fixed rate of interest over a fixed period, say five or 10...

What are stocks and shares?

Thursday 09 Apr 2020

For first-time investors, continued references in the media to ‘stocks’, ‘shares’ and ‘equities’ might lead you to think that they are all different things. However, they are all just different names for the same thing. It’s easiest to think of a ‘share’ as just that. If you buy shares in a company...

Everything you need to know about investment funds

Thursday 02 Apr 2020

In the latest part of our first-time investor series, we explain the benefits of investing in funds, investment trusts and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). There are thousands of funds on offer which provide access to an array of asset classes, geographic regions and investment styles ranging from...

Which account should I use: an ISA, SIPP or dealing account?

Thursday 19 Mar 2020

It’s easy to feel a bit overwhelmed when wanting to invest as there are so many decisions to make – how much to put in the markets, what to buy and when to sell. You needn’t be stressed as this series aims to give you all the information to make investing a lot easier. One of the first decisions...

How much should you invest?

Thursday 12 Mar 2020

Many people are unsure whether they have enough money to start investing. Fortunately there are only a few simple steps to follow to establish whether you are in a good position to begin putting money into the markets. First you need to think about all of your finances and prioritise paying off...

How much do charges affect your returns?

Thursday 05 Mar 2020

When you invest you’ll face lots of different charges, some tiny amounts and some slightly bigger. The main ones are the annual charge from the broker or platform through which you buy your investments. This is usually based on a percentage of the money you invest but is sometimes a flat rate. The...

Opening an investment account and making your first transaction

Thursday 27 Feb 2020

This is the third part of our series aimed at people new to investing. Parts one and two looked at why you should consider investing, how much you might invest and the benefits of starting as early as you can. In this article we will explain how to kick your investment journey into gear by finding...

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