Compare Investments

If individuals want to grow their capital over the long term, investing is often a popular route due to its ability to produce higher returns than standard savings accounts. However, it is important that you compare investment products before choosing because some products carry a lot more risk than others and, since it is your money, it is up to you how much more you want to stray away from the risk-free safety net of a standard savings account.

Higher risk products tend to offer higher returns, but this does come at a price - if the value of the stocks go down, so will the amount of money you have in the account. Read more...>

	Investec FTSE 100 5 Year Deposit Plan Investec Version Target Return - 26% gross	Growth Bond	£1,500	N/A
	Virgin FTSE All Share Tracker Invest by transferring existing ISAs	Investment ISA	£1	N/A
	Investec FTSE 100 Enhanced Kick Out Final Growth Return - 1.20 x FTSE 100 Growth	Investement Trust	£1,500	N/A
	Legal and General ISA Invest up to £10,680 using your annual allowance	Investment ISA	£50	£500
	Investec FTSE 100 Geared Returns Plan Potential return of 75%	Investment trust	£1,500	N/A
	Investec FTSE 100 Bonus Income Plan Annual income 7.00%	Investment Trust	£1,500	N/A

The risk involved in investing depends on the type of investment product you are investing in, and there are many on the market, including growth or income bonds, stocks and shares ISAs and unit trusts. As there are so many different products available, it is important that investors compare investments carefully.

Growth and income bonds

A growth or income bond is a type of guaranteed investment which has little or no risk associated with it because the original capital is protected. The investor knows exactly what they will get out of the bond upon purchasing and will have the potential to grow their capital without any investment risk.  The downside is that the rate of return is often not as high as other investment products due to security of the capital.

When consumers compare investments they will initially need to decide whether they want to receive an income or grow capital. If the former, investors will compare the typical income yield rate, and the maximum growth return rate for the latter when deciding on a suitable fund.

Investment ISAs

Also known as ‘Stocks and Shares ISAs’, they are different from Cash ISAs because the capital is not just saved into an account. Investment ISAs should be viewed as a long term investment as the stock market can fluctuate up and down regularly.

When comparing Investment ISAs consumers will need to compare investment rates but also past performance, the fund risk, the initial charge and the annual charge, because all of these features of a products will have an impact upon the final decision.

Unit trusts

This type of investment is seen as less risky than an Investment ISA because a group of investors pool their capital together into the trust and then rely on professional managers to decide how the capital is invested, thus sharing the risk throughout the group.

When investors compare investment rates for Unit Trusts they need to consider the minimum initial and monthly investments, the annual fee, quartile rank, and performance history. The fund’s quartile rank is important since this is the banding the product has been given in comparison to others in a similar sector.

The management charges for Unit Trusts are often higher than other investment products because of the continuous professional management involved.

Tips on investing

• Consider what you want to achieve from investing – do you require an extra income or are you looking to grow your capital?
• Don’t put all eggs into one basket – investment is usually a risky business so it is wise to spread your capital around different products.
• Compare the past performance of the investment product carefully – a product’s history is a good indicator of how this fund is expected to perform in the future.

Product Offers
Please ensure that you fully read the terms & conditions of any product or policy before you decide to proceed and are fully aware of the total costs and the benefits and any exclusions or limitations applicable to the product or plan.

Please note that the product links will take you direct to the Issuer or Insurer's site direct and we cannot be held responsible for the information which they provide within their own sites. On some comparison tables we use a star rating which rates products by visitor popularity.