n. Investment: the act of investing : laying out money or capital in an enterprise with the expectation of profit.

Investing in the safety of the bank or building society often fails to provide the return that the investor requires for capital growth and as importantly investment income. However, with the right investment advice from a professional adviser you can take advantage of the thousands of alternative investment products that are available through hundreds of investment providers.

You may have heard of all sorts of investments - ISAs, shares, property, unit trusts - the list goes on. However, the best way to understand investments is to think about investing as having three 'layers':

1. The underlying investment itself will fall into what are referred to as asset classes. These are alluded to in more detail within our Wealth Management Programme however, include equities, property, bonds, etc. You can invest in each of these directly if you wish.
2. Pooled investments. This is when you put your money with other investors to invest in one or more of the above asset classes. This spreads your risk and saves on costs. Open-ended investment funds, investment trusts and life assurance bonds are the most common pooled investments.
3. Tax wrappers. These are tax breaks that you can - subject to certain rules - wrap around your investment, either to shield it from some or all tax. The wrapper can be around either the underlying investment or the pooled investment. The two most common tax wrappers are ISAs and pensions.