The Wealth Room

Introduction to Investment Products

So what is an investment product?

We have chatted in depth about unit trusts, so I am hoping that by now you are more confident in your understanding of them. So let’s start chatting about the different investment vehicles or investment products that you can use to buy into different unit trusts.

Every investment vehicle or product has been designed for a very specific purpose or goal. The underlying unit trust will be the same, but will be governed differently according to the investment product rules.

What do the product rules define?

The rules of each investment product will determine how that specific investment vehicle is allowed to operate. For example, the rules can determine the contributions that you’re allowed to make to the investment product. Another on the investment product can stipulate the way that you are taxed when you access the funds in the investment. Another such rule, can stipulate what unit trusts you’re allowed to have access to in the investment vehicle.

How do you choose the right investment product?

My first suggestion would be to get in touch with a Certified Financial Planner®, so that he/she can guide you in making the most informed choice in selecting the right investment product. However if you don’t want to go that route and feel that you have enough confidence to go about it on your own, then you would want to try and match the best investment product that suits your investment objective or financial circumstances.

For example, if you want to invest for retirement, you would use a Retirement Annuity. If you want more flexibility and liquidity, a Retirement Annuity is not going to be the best investment vehicle for you.

In the next couple of posts, we will deal with a couple of Investment Vehicles for you to consider and try match up with your investment objective.

All Video Clips supplied by Allan Gray