What are shares?

Shares and the individual

Most of us want to save for the future to achieve an important life goal or ambition - buying a new home, sending children to college, or the promise of an early retirement.

Knowing your objectives for the future is the starting point in determining the type of investment you make today and more and more of us are realising the importance of investing directly in shares. Until not so long ago, owning shares was something many people thought was beyond their reach.

Thankfully, times have changed and the tremendous opportunities created by share ownership are now within the grasp of almost everybody.

Although it can be high risk, investing in shares can be one of the most flexible, lucrative and rewarding forms of investment there is.

Indeed, you may already be a share owner without even knowing it - perhaps through a company or personal pension scheme or an endowment mortgage. You may have participated in a privatisation or been a beneficiary of a building society conversion and found yourself joining the ever-increasing numbers of the shareholding public.

This guide is designed to inform you of the benefits of becoming a more active investor. You will not only find information on how the stock market works, but you will find out how the stock market can work for you. The guide gives you a greater understanding of the basics of buying and selling shares and tells you how to match your personal investment preferences to market opportunities. It will help you realise your savings and investment growth potential.