First Time Investor: The Complete Guide to Buying, Owning and Selling Shares

Your future prosperity -- and that of your children - lies in your ability to understand and make the most of the investment markets. Share ownership is for everyone. Whether you invest in the stockmarkets through collective funds such as unit trusts and insurance funds or directly in equities and bonds, the basic decisions you need to make are the same. With the demise of the Welfare State, seasoned investors and novices alike must address key areas such as pensions, mortgages and further education for our children. There is no magic one-size-fits-all solution but despite what the cynics say, a little knowledge goes a very long way towards avoiding expensive mistakes. Whatever your starting point, The First Time Investor will provide you with the vital information you need to manage your existing investments more efficiently, learn more about the markets and companies in which you invest, and feel more confident and informed when you make investment decisions. Written by Debbie Harrison, an award-winning author and journalist, this new edition of The First Time Investor will provide answers to the most important questions for new investors, such * How do the stock markets work? * What are the important characteristics of equities and bonds? * How do I find the right investment adviser? * Which are the best Internet services? * Which are the right investments and savings for me? * How do I choose the best collective funds? * How do I select individual shares, gilts and bonds? * Which benchmarks should I use to monitor my portfolio? * What do I do if things go wrong? Written in Debbie's renowned accessible style, The First Time Investor provides shrewd investment advice to enable you to make your investments more profitable. The First Time Investor Empowering you to make the most of your money

Debbie Harrison is an award-winning financial author and journalist. She writes regularly for the Financial Times, Sunday Business, Bloomberg Money and Investment Week. Her technical work includes five major Financial Times reports on retail and institutional investment. Her consumer books include Finance at Your Fingertips, Pension Power and The Money Zone, published by Pearson Education and How to Make it in The City, published by Virgin Publishing.