Investing in shares; starting your own investment club.
If you don’t want to invest a lot of money in shares and you’d like to combine it with socialising, why not start or join an investment club?
Ten years ago a group of women who’d met through their regular yoga class decided to help each other learn more about money and – in particular – the stock market, by setting up an investment club. The idea was that they’d meet once a month and each pay £25 into a kitty to invest in shares. And so the FYG (which stands for Fenland Yoga Girls learn everything about finance) investment club was born. One of the attractions for the women was the fact they knew each other and so didn’t feel intimidated about getting started in shares. Their investments have certainly had some dramatic ups and downs but the group believe that the knowledge they've gained is priceless.
The financial regulator is looking at the way some bonds, sold as 'safe' investments, were marketed
Thousands of people bought structured products backed by the now-defunct Lehman Brothers. The FSA is concerned that investors weren't told how risky they were.
You may never have heard of ‘structured products’ before, but they’re popular - with around £35 billion invested in them. The theory behind them sounds great. You invest in a product that gives you a return if the stock market rises and your money back if it falls. What could possibly go wrong? Well, what investors weren’t told is that the guarantees were only as safe as the company that underwrote the investments. Over £100 million worth of investments were backed by the investment bank, Lehman Brothers; and when it failed it left some investors high and dry
Watch out for charges on your investment plans, you may not realise how much you’re paying
Many of us don’t understand how charges on investment plans add up, but they can make a dent on your return
If you’ve taken out a stocks and shares ISA or invested in a share-based fund, do you know how much you’re being charged in management fees and commissions? The chances are that you probably don’t. Financial advisers and investment companies have to provide information about how much of the money we invest will disappear in charges. The problem is that this information is not as transparent as it could be.
