You may find your investment goals change if you get married, have children, or start a business, so it could be an idea to switch your investments into different funds. And as you approach retirement, you may want to move your money gradually into investments that offer more security.<\/p>\n
There are different types of risk involved with investing, so it\u2019s important to find out what they are and think about how much risk you\u2019re willing to take. It all depends on your attitude to risk and what you are trying to achieve with your investments.<\/p>\n
Things to think about before investing<\/strong><\/p>\n How much can you afford to invest?<\/p>\n How long can you afford to be without the money you\u2019ve invested (most investment products should be held for at least five years)?<\/p>\n What do you want your investment to provide \u2013 capital growth (your original investment to increase), income or both?<\/p>\n How much risk and what sort of risk are you prepared to take?<\/p>\n Do you want to share costs and risks with other investors (by using a pooled investment, for example)?<\/p>\n If you decide to invest using pooled investments, consider which type would be most suitable for you. The main differences between pooled investments are the way they pay tax and the risks they involve (especially investment trusts and with-profit funds).<\/p>\n What are the tax benefit implications, what tax will you pay and can you reduce it?<\/p>\n What am I investing for?<\/strong> You may have a lump sum to invest that you would like to see grow or from which you wish to draw an income. Equally, you may decide to invest in instalments (for example, on a monthly basis) with a view to building up a lump sum.<\/p>\n Investment goals<\/strong> Generally, the longer it is before you need your money, the greater the amount of risk you are able to take in the expectation of greater reward. The value of shares goes up and down in the short term, and this can be very difficult to predict, but long term they can be expected to deliver better returns. The same is true to a lesser extent of bonds. Only cash offers certainty in the short term. Asset mix<\/strong> Income can be in the form of interest or share dividends. If you take and spend this income, your investments will grow more slowly than if you let it build up by reinvesting it. By not taking income you will earn interest on interest and the reinvested dividends should increase the size of your investment, which may then generate further growth. This is called \u2018compounding.\u2019<\/p>\n The performance of your investments could make a critical difference to your financial wellbeing in the future, so receiving professional financial advice is essential. Please contact us to discuss your particular situation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What do you want to achieve from your investments? You may find your investment goals change if you get married, have children, or start a business, so it could be an idea to switch your investments into different funds. And as you approach retirement, you may want to move your money gradually into investments that… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1457"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1457\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.suretyfp.com\/wordpress\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nYou may be looking for an investment to provide money for a specific purpose in the future. Alternatively, you might want an investment to provide extra income. So having decided that you are in a position to invest, the next thing to think about is: \u2018What am I investing for?\u2019 Your answer will help you to choose the most suitable type of investment for you. If you have a particular goal, you will need to think about how much you can afford and how long it might take you to achieve your goal.<\/p>\n
\nYour investment goals should determine your investment plan, and the time question \u2018How long have I got before I need to spend the money?\u2019 is crucial.<\/p>\n
\nBroadly speaking, you can invest in shares for the long term, fixed interest securities for the medium term and cash for the short term.<\/p>\n
\nAs the length of time you have shortens, you can change your total risk by adjusting the \u2018asset mix\u2019 of your investments \u2013 for example,\u00a0by gradually moving from share investments into bonds and cash. It is often possible to choose an option to \u2018lifestyle\u2019 your investments, which is where your mix of assets is risk-adjusted to reflect your age and the time you have before you want to spend your money.<\/p>\n