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In this section
Important information - please keep in mind that the value of investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and all tax rules may change in the future. This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice.
What's your next first?
How to get started
Whatever your next first is, we can help you invest in it. Here we take you through the basics of investing: the what, why and a few extra good-to-knows.
Taking those first steps is easier when we're armed with all the facts. Should I be investing at all? Why? And how do I even get a foot in the door? We've boiled our 50 years of investing experience into these quick explainer videos, so all the hard work's done for you.
Understanding the science
As you'd expect, there's a lot of hard theory underpinning investing. Now, most of us don't need to dive in all the way. But a little understanding can go a long way, helping us make smarter decisions about where our money's going. Watch our videos below to see just what we mean.
Your investing jargon buster
Get to grips with these terms and you’ll be investing in your next first step in no time. There’s always more to learn, but let’s start with the basics.
Volatility
Volatility is a normal part of long-term investing and describes all price changes in the stock market. This means the value of your investments can go down as well as up. Increased volatility is when the stock market experiences periods of unpredictable, and sometimes sharp, rises and falls. This can be caused by a range of economic and political factors.
Investing
Investing is where you put money into something like shares, bonds or a fund, with the hope of making a profit over time (also called a return). Investing comes with risks, the value of your holdings could go down as well as up. Before you invest, you should put some money away in a current or savings account with your bank for emergencies.
Equity / Stock / Share
Ownership of a tiny part of a company. When the value of the company goes up or down, so does the value of the share you own.
Stocks and Shares ISA
A Stocks and Shares ISA is a type of savings account that lets you invest across a range of investments. As with any ISA, you don’t have to pay tax on any money you make from your investment. And you don’t need to worry about putting it on a tax return either.
Fund
When you invest in a fund, your money is pooled with a load of other investors. A professional fund manager then puts it into lots of different investments with the aim of balancing the risk and reward to achieve the fund’s objectives. They’ll charge a fee for doing this.
Risk
All investments carry some risk – there’s a chance the value of yours could go down as well as up. A higher level of risk often means there’s a greater potential for growth and a greater chance you may lose some of your money.
To spread your risk your money could be invested across different companies and asset classes (see Diversification).
Environmental, social, governance (ESG)
ESG is an acronym for the three central factors used by some investors to screen and select investments. The terms ‘environmental’ and ‘social’ may sometimes be replaced by ‘ethical’ and ‘sustainable’. Using ESG factors does not automatically mean a fund or investment portfolio is ‘sustainable’ or ‘ethical’, so you'll need to research them.
Assets
An asset is something of economic value. Some assets are physical e.g. a car or a house. But assets can also be non-physical, such as bonds, bank deposits, stocks and shares. Assets can be grouped into asset classes, such as equities, bonds, commodities and cash, which tend to behave differently to each other.
Active vs passive
If investing in funds you’ll have the options of actively managed investments where a fund manager uses their expertise to try to pick better performing assets, or options like tracker funds, which can be cheaper and passively follow the return of an index, like the FTSE 100.
Bond
Bonds are corporate and government loans with you playing the part of the lender, in exchange for interest payments over a set period. Through issuing a bond, a company or government can borrow money in exchange for paying a fixed interest over a set time period, along with paying the initial amount loaned back to you at the end.
Diversification
Successful long-term investing depends on selecting the right mix of assets to achieve your desired outcomes. This could mean you diversify your investments across different industries, asset classes and/or geographies to achieve a profile that matches your objectives and appetite for risk. Or invest into a fund that will do it for you.
Meet the investors
Figuring out your next move? Take it from someone who's been there. We spoke to someone starting out in the world of investing - getting their tips and experiences, from what made them begin to where it's helped them to go.
Ready to invest?
Our straightforward, low-cost solution Easy Invest can help if you're ready to take your next first. You can start from as little as £25 a month and you'll own a slice of some of the world's biggest brands.
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Please remember that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance, the performance of investments is not guaranteed, and the value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. When investments have particular tax features, these will depend on your personal circumstances and tax rules may change in the future. This website does not contain any personal recommendations for a particular course of action, service or product. You should regularly review your investment objectives and choices and, if you are unsure whether an investment is suitable for you, you should contact an authorised financial adviser. Before opening an account, please read the ‘Doing Business with Fidelity’ document which incorporates our client terms. Prior to investing into a fund, please read the relevant key information document which contains important information about the fund.
This website is issued by Financial Administration Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (FCA Register number 122169) and registered in England and Wales under company number 1629709 whose registered address is Beech Gate, Millfield Lane, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 6RP.