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Legal & General Ethical Investment

Legal & General’s Ethical Trust tracks the FTSE 350 Index* excluding businesses in the Index that don’t meet certain ethical criteria.
nvest from just £50 a month or £500 lump sum but remember that the value of your investment may fall as well as rise and is not guaranteed. You should consider investing in the Ethical Trust as a medium to long term investment of at least five years.
*Legal & General (Unit Trust Managers) Limited has been licensed by FTSE International Limited to use the name of "FTSE 350 Index”.

What is an ISA?

ISA stands for Individual Savings Account. An ISA is a tax-efficient way of saving. It shelters your money from personal income and capital gains tax.

There are limits on the number of ISAs you can take out each year. You have an annual ISA investment allowance of £7,200, and you cannot exceed this. You can invest all £7,200 in a stocks and shares ISA, or up to £3,600 in a cash ISA and the remainder of the £7,200 in a stocks and shares ISA.

If you'll be aged 50 or above on 5 April 2010, your ISA limit for this tax year is increasing to £10,200 from 6 October 2009 (£5,100 for a cash ISA).

The stocks and shares element of your ISA can be invested in any of Legal & General's unit trusts (except the Cash Trust). You should also remember that your investment is not guaranteed, the value may fall as well as rise and the current tax situation may change in the future.

What is a unit trust?

A unit trust is simply a pool of individual investors’ money, which buys a spread of investments. The trust is divided into units. The number of units you buy represents your share of the trust.

These investments can range from index-tracking trusts which will buy shares to track a variety of indices, or actively managed trusts where the stocks or other investments are picked and managed by a fund manager.

You can either invest straight into a unit trust or wrap up to £7,200 each tax year in an ISA. If you'll be aged 50 or above on 5 April 2010, your ISA limit for this tax year is increasing to £10,200 from 6 October 2009 (£5,100 for a cash ISA). There is no limit to the amount that you can invest in a unit trust, although the maximum online investment is £50,000. You must also remember that unit trusts are not tax free and although there is no minimum period, unit trusts are designed to be a long-term investment of at least five years. You should also remember that your investment is not guaranteed and the value may fall as well as rise.

What is a corporate bond?

Bonds are a type of fixed interest security, which is in effect a method of 'lending' money to the government or a company.

When you invest into a corporate bond fund we lend your money to companies who will then agree to pay interest on the amount over a certain period of time. Corporate bonds are issued by different companies at varying rates of interest. Generally speaking, the more secure a company is, the lower the rate of interest it will need to attract investors. You should also remember that your investment is not guaranteed and the value may fall as well as rise.