Want to put your money in the best investments in the UK?
Instead of investing your savings in the typical equities, bonds, and ISAs, consider these innovative options.
Here are five of the best investments in the UK, ranging from buying exquisite wines to lottery firms and crowdfunding.
We are not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned on this article.
If you are looking to invest as an expat or high-net-worth individual, which is what I specialize in, you can email me ([email protected]) or use WhatsApp (+44-7393-450-837).
10 Investments in the UK
1. Online Savings Account
You normally receive monthly interest payments if you have a savings account with an online bank. NerdWallet reports that the typical interest rate is roughly 0.5%, which is a bit higher than what a conventional bank or credit union could give, which might be as low as 0.01%.
You should do some research on which banks give the best interest rates and choose an easy-to-set-up bank before beginning your investing adventure.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protects most savings accounts in the UK up to £85,000, albeit this protection applies to financial institutions as a whole rather than to individual accounts.
This implies that if your bank were to fail, you would receive a refund for any savings up to the specified amount.
2. Crowdfunding
Many new enterprises are turning to crowdfunding to get off the ground rather than relying on venture capital trusts and angel investors. In fact, this year alone, UK platforms like CrowdCube and Angels Den have attracted over £72 million in funding from investors.
Investors now have access to tens of thousands of possibilities that, in the past, were exclusively available to venture capital companies through crowdfunding platforms.
Simply put, companies start a crowdfunding campaign that normally gives many of individuals the option to participate in exchange for a tiny ownership stake.
In the event that the business is acquired or goes public, there is also the potential for a significant profit.
Award-winning honey beer company Hiver has raised £350,000 through CrowdCube to fund retail ambitions, sales, and marketing.
3. Cash Management Account
You may manage all of your short-term investments in the UK through a single portfolio if you have a cash management account (CMA), which is maintained within a financial institution but is often not a bank or credit union.
This can apply to investments that are taxed, such as stocks, bond funds, mortgage payments, and other kinds of investments. Investors may do all of these tasks concurrently with cash management accounts without changing platforms or apps.
CMAs are frequently viewed as a substitute for regular checking accounts and online savings accounts. Given that they only offer online services, some even offer higher interest rates and lower fees.
Due to this, some investors would like this kind of account while others might want a more conventional strategy involving in-person meetings.
4. Lottery Business and Affiliates
According to reports, up to 70% of UK people participate in lottery games on a regular basis, and the sector brought in up to £3.7 billion in 2015–16. Given such figures, big society lotteries that bring in more than £250,000 year provide a fantastic investment opportunity.
Keep in mind, too, that under UK law, lotteries are required to donate at least 20% of their profits to charitable organizations. A successful example of a huge society lottery is the Health Lottery, which donates at least 20p from each £1 in ticket sales to health-related organisations in the UK.
Additionally, affiliate marketing programs, which may be a valuable source of passive income, let you invest in the lottery sector. Setting up a website with lottery-related material and enrolling in affiliate programs need some work, but these tasks may simply be outsourced.
Once the website is operational, you will be paid every time a site visitor clicks on one of your affiliate links to join a lottery and start playing.
5. Certificates of Deposit
Another sort of savings account offered by a bank, credit union, or other financial institution is a certificate of deposit (CD). These are given to those who deposit money for a predetermined period of time at a predetermined interest rate, which may range anywhere between six months and five years.
Interest is paid by the issuing bank in exchange. Investors may get their initial investment plus any income generated when they ultimately cash in or redeem their CD.
A certificate of deposit and a typical savings account are primarily distinguished by the fact that a CD has a fixed term and fixed interest rate.
Additionally, they are insured up to $250,000 in the US or £85,000 in the UK. They are among the safest ways to save money, but you should keep in mind that all investments have risk and shouldn’t be relied upon.
6. Fine Wine
Wine is a solid investment as long as you know what to purchase; its value has improved consistently since 2013 and by more than 20% in 2017. Attend wine tasting classes and network with other investors to gain the knowledge you need to distinguish between high-quality wines.
You may also utilize vintage reports, which include essential details like grape type, region, harvest circumstances, and growing seasons, to aid in wine selection.
By giving you access to a vast database of wines from all over the world with important details, ratings, and reviews, new applications make investing in wine even simpler.
Although it usually takes five years to realize a profit, investing in fine wine may be quite profitable if you have an interest in the sector.
7. Government Bonds
The government of the UK issues gilts, which are debt instruments with a set rate of return and are intended for short-term investment. As long as the bond is outstanding, the issuing government will pay the investor a fixed interest rate.
The government then pays the bondholder the bond’s face value when this occurs. In the US, treasuries, bunds, and OATs are other terms used to describe government bonds.
In terms of risk, this sort of investment can be positioned between shares and cash and may be more suitable for less risk-tolerant clients.
Although gilts are not covered by the FSCS, they are backed by the government, which some may view as being similarly safe. The bond market is one of the most liquid financial markets.
8. Alternative Property Investments
Property has always been a highly secure investment option in the UK, but this is changing as a result of the uncertainties around Brexit and new tax laws.
The alternative real estate markets, such those for co-working spaces, student housing, and care home units, nonetheless provide lucrative investment opportunities.
Due to their classification as commercial properties or lesser valuations, these properties frequently offer large returns and avoid various tax regulations.
A buy-as-you-let property or a stake of a property purchased with other investors can be purchased using a pension fund as an alternative investment option.
This choice does have some disadvantages because you’ll need to make sure the rent is enough to pay the mortgage as well as the expenses for managing and maintaining the property.
But buy-to-lets and the correct location may still generate income and appreciate in value over time.
9. Money Market Account
A minimum deposit must be made in order to create a money market account (MMA), a particular kind of deposit account. Its distinction from a conventional savings account is due to this.
These frequently have higher interest rates, which may alarm some investors owing to the danger of inflation, even if this risk is not the same for short-term investors as it may be for long-term ones.
Although the products differ greatly, a money market fund (MMF) is another category of short-term investment that goes by the same name.
This mutual fund makes short-term investments in corporate, municipal, and government bonds.
Although they assist in diversifying your investment portfolio across a number of securities, investors do not typically view these as being as safe as MMAs since they are not covered by the FSCS.
10. Peer-to-Peer Lending
Without using a bank, peer-to-peer lending enables you to loan money to individuals using internet platforms. Peer-to-peer loan marketplaces like Zopa, Prosper, and Lending Works facilitate these arrangements.
They organize credit and ID checks, determine interest rates, collect payments, and pay your returns. These peer-to-peer organizations are normally FCA-regulated.
Peer-to-peer lending has the benefit of allowing you to set interest rates greater than those provided by ISAs and savings accounts.
With as little as £10 at a time, you may choose who you lend to and spread the risk by making loans to a lot of different borrowers. You can also get out of loan arrangements if you need to free up some cash.
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Adam is an internationally recognised author on financial matters with over 830million answer views on Quora, a widely sold book on Amazon, and a contributor on Forbes.
