Collective Investments

Collective investments are also known as unit trusts, investment trusts and OEICs. In all cases an individual is able to invest in a basket of shares of different companies, that way spreading his or her equity investment risk.

With a collective investment your money is pooled, along with that of other investors, to create a large capital sum. Professional fund managers then use this capital sum to build up a large actively managed portfolio of investments. This approach enables you, indirectly, to hold a wide range of stocks and shares in a way which would not be practical for an individual investor, whilst minimising the effects on your capital of fluctuations in individual share values.

Collectives can also invest in fixed interest instruments. These include UK government stock, also known as gilt edged stock or "gilts" for short. Corporate bonds are also fixed interest instruments and both represent direct borrowing on the part of the issuer of the bonds. They are referred to as "fixed interest" because their cost of borrowing is fixed, while the price of the bonds themselves may float up or down depending on supply and demand.