Endowment: Where Should You Be Investing Your Money?

Endowment: Where Should You Be Investing Your Money?
by Charles Newman

Investing money is supposedly a safe discipline, to put a few pennies away for times of need, possibly to make retirement a little more comfortable. However many have recently found, that our financial investments are far from secure and a constant worry. With the UK financial situation shaken up, where is the best place to keep your hard earned savings safe and sound?

Share prices from around the world seem to have been massively affected by recessions faced in the major global economies. Unfortunately savvy investors who invested in the UK and overseas have been hit both times, with the US and Japanese markets also performing badly. Successful traders buy when shares are low and sell when they are high. Some would argue now is the time to buy, however this is a risky approach since there are no guarantees and nothing to stop share prices crashing further.

Property investment a few years ago looked as safe as houses, yet this year house prices have consistently fallen, proving that even the safest, well established investment methods can still be rocked to their foundations. Mortgages have followed suit with the financial recession, meaning consumers are finding it increasingly difficult to get finance to snap up the supposedly cheap houses on the market presently. Again could be a seen as a great time to invest in property if you do have sufficient funds.

Pension schemes have not had the best track record and there seems to be a trend showing public opinion swaying away from investing years of savings in pension schemes and looking elsewhere. A recent example was on 12 September 2007, Northern Rock asked the Bank of England, as lender of last resort in the United Kingdom, for a liquidity support facility due to problems in raising funds in the money market to replace maturing money market borrowings. Overnight customers panicked and stores had queues of customers the following day desperately trying to withdraw their savings. In one incident, police were called to the branch in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire when two joint account holders barricaded the bank manager in her office after she refused to let them withdraw £1 million from their account.

So where should you invest your savings to maximise return and minimise risk? Well the simply answer is no one knows. I believe the best tip is based on an old saying, dont keep all your eggs in one basket. Spreading out your savings could be the best way to safeguard your savings. It is possible to invest 7200 GBP each tax year is ISAs, 30000 GBP in guaranteed premium bonds with national savings and investments. If you still have more money to invest why not think of alternative investment opportunities, for example: endowment policies.