Types of Investments & Savings

There are numerous types of investment and saving products you can invest your money in. Below are just a few examples.

ISAs

Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) are a tax efficient way to save or invest for anyone aged 18 or over (or 16 or over for cash ISAs). Any income or growth is not subject to tax.

There are two types of ISA available:

• Stocks & Shares in the form of either individual shares or bonds, or pooled investments such as open-ended investment funds, investment trusts or life assurance investments
• Cash, usually via a bank or building society savings account

From 6 April 2010, everyone is able to take advantage of the new ISA limit of £10,200 which includes £5,100 that can be saved in a cash ISA. 

At Legal & Medical, we use investment platforms that can offer over 1500 funds from all the major investment houses including Fidelity, Invesco Perpetual, Jupiter and Schroders.

Unit Trusts

A unit trust is a form of collective investment whereby your money is combined with that of other investors and used by the fund manager to purchase a wide range of stocks. Because of its collective nature, the cost to buy stocks is therefore much less than buying individual stocks. 

Anybody can invest in a unit trust and there are different risk levels. Any income you receive is liable for tax.

Investment Bonds

An investment bond is also sometimes referred to as an insurance bond. It’s a single premium life assurance policy for the purposes of investment, paid for in one lump sum.

With no fixed term and often the ability to add additional capital at any time, investment bonds offer significant flexibility. Your money is used to buy funds from a wide range of choice at different risk levels.

You can take regular withdrawals of up to 5% per annum of the amount invested with no further liability to basic rate tax. When the full investment is cashed, it may be liable for tax depending on your tax rate.

Investment Trusts

An investment trust is a financial institution that buys and sells shares of other companies to individuals.

As part of a medium to long term investment, with an investment trust you can own a part of several different companies without having to purchase the shares individually.

Open Ended Investment Companies (OEICs)

OEICs are principally a medium to long term investment. Shares are created as investors buy in to a fund and then cancelled as the shares are sold.

Unlike unit trusts, OEICs generally offer single pricing for buying and selling shares. Because the prices fluctuate, there is still some risk involved.

Structured Products

Structured products offer returns based on the performance of underlying investments. Many products are linked to stock market indexes such as the FTSE 100 and the underlying investments may involve different firms based in various countries.

A typical structured product will have two underlying investment components:

• a note - a type of debt security used to provide capital protection
• a derivative - a financial instrument linked to the value of something else, such as a stock market index, or the price of another asset, such as oil or gold

Structured products can often offer a less volatile option to direct equities (stocks and shares) with some level of capital protection.

Investment Advice with Legal & Medical

At Legal & Medical, we specialise in providing financial advice to doctors and dentists on a wide range of investment and saving products including ISAs, investment bonds and unit trusts.

By impartially looking at the whole of the market, we find the right investment products for you and your individual circumstances.

To find out how we can help you and your family live the lifestyle you want to lead, now and in the future, contact us today or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

The Financial Services Authority do not regulate offshore investments. The tax reliefs referred to throughout this website are those currently applying in the United Kingdom to UK Tax Residents. These tax reliefs are liable to change. The value of any tax relief available will depend upon the individual circumstances of the taxpayer.