Investment Summary

Here is a summary of the different types of investments. There are nine different categories:

Sometimes a long term investment can make short term profits but it can also mean short term losses. All are listed alphabetically. The best are marked with a

. The worst are not indicated here but there are warnings on individual page links. A few are not currently available.

Many are now poor value as interest rates have come down so much and banks have widened their margins charging relatively more for loans and paying relatively less interest on deposits. Old accounts routinely have interest rates reduced to 0.1% or 0.2% as early as one year after you have opened a new account. Unfortunately the Government does little to stop this sharp practice which verges on fraud in the author's opinion.

Many of the bank and building society accounts listed below now pay paltry rates of interest, so don't waste your time looking through them at the moment. The only ones which pay anything worthwile are 4 or 5 year Bank or Building Society Term Account which nowadays hardly ever let you stop early, even with a penalty. If you can get that sort of account attached to a Bank or Building Society Cash ISA, then you will do slightly better but the maximum investment is low.

ü Period allowed under terms of investment.
	1 yr	2 yrs	3 yrs	4 yrs	5 yrs	6 yrs	7 yrs
Bank or Building Society Cash ISA	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü
Bank or Building Society Escalator Bond				ü	ü
Bank or Building Society Term Account	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü
Bank or Building Society Perpetual Subordinated Bonds	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü
Bank or Building Society Stock Market Bond					ü
Investment Trust ISA	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü
Investment Trust Zero Dividend Shares	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü
Life Insurance Fixed Growth or Income Bond	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü
National Savings Fixed Interest Certificates		ü			ü
National Savings Fixed Rate Savings Bond	ü		ü		ü
National Savings Income Bond	ü
National Savings Index Linked Certificates			ü		ü
National Savings Pensioners Bond	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü
Offshore Bank Term Account	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü
Offshore Stock and Bond Fund	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü
Shares SAYE Share Option			ü		ü		ü
Stock Government Fixed Interest	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü
Stock Corporate Bonds		ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü
Stock Eurobonds		ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü
Stock ISA Stock Self Select ISA	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü
Stock £ Fixed Interest Unit Trust	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü
Stock Eurobond Fund	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü	ü

Last checked 7 January 2012

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Investment Summary