Investing, step by step
You don’t need to pick stocks or watch charts. Here’s what to understand first, in the order you’ll need it.
What to do, in order
Check it’s safe to invest
Clear anything that charges you interest first, and keep three months of essentials in cash, so a broken boiler can’t force you to sell.
Choose the wrapper
A stocks and shares ISA or a pension shelters your growth from tax. Choose this before the investment.
Check a fund and pay in monthly
A broad, low-cost fund screened for shariah compliance gives you many companies in one purchase.
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What a 1% fee really costs over 30 years
How to check a fund is shariah compliant, in about ten minutes
Where to start with investing, if you’ve never done it
Compounding: the sum that rewards being early
Risk, without the small print voice
Sukuk: why they’re not quite bonds
ISA or pension: where should your investments live?
The details
How long to invest for
A common rule of thumb says money you’ll need within five years shouldn’t be in shares, because markets can fall sharply and take years to recover.
Ethical and halal
They aren’t the same word. A fund can call itself sustainable or responsible and still hold banks, or pay income from interest.
Capital at risk. Investments can fall as well as rise, and you could get back less than you put in. Past performance is no guide to the future. Nothing here is a recommendation to buy any fund or platform.