A

Actively Managed Investment Fund
A fund where professional managers actively choose which investments to buy and sell, aiming to outperform the market.

AIM-listed
Companies listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM), a section of the London Stock Exchange designed for smaller, growing companies.

Alternative Investments
Investments outside of traditional stocks, bonds or cash — such as real estate, commodities, hedge funds, or private equity.

Angel Investor
An individual who invests their own money into start-up companies, usually in return for shares and potential future profits.

Asset
Anything you own that has value — such as cash, shares, property, or investments.

Asset Class
A category of investment (e.g. shares, bonds, property). Spreading investments across multiple asset classes helps manage risk.

Attitude to Risk
Your personal comfort level with the ups and downs of investing. A higher attitude to risk means you're willing to accept more short-term volatility in exchange for higher potential long-term returns.

B

Bond (Corporate or Government)
A loan made by an investor to a company or government, in exchange for regular interest payments and eventual repayment of the original loan.

C

Capacity for Loss
Your ability to withstand financial losses without it having a serious negative impact on your financial wellbeing.

Cash ISA
A savings account where interest is tax-free. Generally lower risk, but with lower returns.

Child Trust Fund
A now-closed tax-advantaged savings account for children, replaced by Junior ISAs.

Commodity
Physical goods traded on markets — like gold, oil, or agricultural products — which can also be part of an investment portfolio.

Correlation
How closely two investments move together. High correlation means they tend to rise and fall together; low correlation means they move differently.

Crowdfunding
Raising money for businesses or projects from many individual investors, typically via online platforms.

Diversify / Diversification
Spreading investments across different assets to reduce risk and smooth returns.

Dividend
A share of a company’s profits paid to shareholders, usually as regular income.

E

Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)
A UK government scheme offering tax reliefs to individuals who invest in small, high-risk companies.

Equity
Ownership in a company, usually via shares.

Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)
A fund that tracks an index or basket of assets and trades like a share on a stock exchange.

F

Fund
A professionally managed pool of investments combining many assets, helping investors diversify easily.

G

Gilt
A UK government bond, seen as very low risk but offering modest returns.

H

Help to Buy ISA
A now-closed government ISA that helped first-time buyers save for a property deposit with bonus contributions.

I

Impact Investment
Investments made to generate positive social or environmental outcomes alongside financial returns.

Index (Stock Market Index)
A way of measuring the overall performance of a group of companies (e.g. FTSE 100, S&P 500).

Individual Savings Account (ISA)
A tax-free account for saving or investing. Multiple types exist, including Cash ISAs, Stocks & Shares ISAs, and Lifetime ISAs.

Innovative Finance ISA
An ISA allowing investment in peer-to-peer lending platforms, offering tax-free interest.

Investment Bond
A lump sum investment product typically offered by insurance companies, often combining investments with some tax planning features.

Investment Trust
A type of fund structured as a company, whose shares are traded on a stock exchange.

J

Junior ISA (JISA)
A tax-free savings or investment account for children, with funds accessible when the child turns 18.

L

Lifetime ISA (LISA)
An ISA allowing up to £4,000 per year to be saved for either a first home or retirement, with a government bonus.

M

Multi-Asset Investment Fund
A fund investing across a mix of asset classes, helping to diversify risk.

Multi-Manager Fund
A fund that invests in other funds, spreading risk across multiple fund managers.

N

Net Asset Value (NAV)
The total value of a fund’s assets minus its liabilities, divided by the number of shares or units outstanding.

O

Open-ended Investment Company (OEIC)
A type of fund where the number of shares issued can increase or decrease based on investor demand.

P

Passively Managed Investment Fund
A fund that simply tracks a market index, rather than trying to beat it through active management.

Personal Equity Plan (PEP)
A predecessor to ISAs, now discontinued.

U

Unit Trust
A fund that pools investors’ money to buy a range of assets, dividing ownership into units.

V

Venture Capital
Investing in early-stage companies with high growth potential but also high risk.

Venture Capital Trust (VCT)
A publicly listed fund investing in small private companies, offering tax incentives to individual investors.

W

Wrap (Account)
An investment platform that allows you to consolidate different investments into one easy-to-manage account.

Wrapper
A tax-efficient structure (such as a pension or ISA) that holds investments.