Stocks and shares, unit trusts and investment trusts Shares
give you part ownership of a company, so the value of your
investment is linked to how the company - and the overall
economy - performs. You can also invest in funds which buy
shares in a wide range of different companies. Over the last 25
years it has become quite common for people to own shares
directly through a number of different ways: * In the UK for
example, many people bought shares when the government sold
nationalized companies * some people were given shares when
their building society or insurance company changed from a
'mutual' (where its members were the owners) into a company with
its shares being bought and sold * as an employee you might also
be awarded shares in your company as an incentive - this may be
through a share option scheme, when you're offered the right to
buy shares in your company in the future at a price agreed now
You can also buy shares directly in companies trading on the
stock exchange through a stockbroker. An alternative to owning
shares directly is to invest your money in a fund or a company
which, in turn, invests its money in shares. Your investments
will be taken care of by a professional manager who uses skill
and experience to decide which companies to invest in, buying
and selling shares to grow your investment. This is called a
'managed scheme'. Your investment is spread over a larger
portion of the market that you could do yourself, so reducing
the risk. Unit trusts can have any number of investors, so are
known as 'open-ended' funds. You invest in these funds by buying
one or more 'units'. The price of units varies depending on how
well the fund performs. Investment trust companies invest in
other companies. Because of this these shares are limited in
number, unlike unit trusts, so they're called 'closed-ended'.
The value of your shares still depends on the performance of the
investments but also on the demand for the investment trust
company's shares themselves. You make money from your shares by
the companies that you invest in declaring 'dividends' or an
amount payable per share. The more shares you own, the more
money you make. But of course, business trends go
down as well as up, so be aware that it just as possible to
loose your investments as it is to make a profit!
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