The Start here hub

Foundations

The building blocks of investing: risk and return, diversification, compounding, inflation and costs, explained for a first read.

The asset ladder

Seven steps, one per desk
  1. Bonds & Cash Start with the money you already have: what cash really earns after tax and inflation
  2. Funds & ETFs Own the market in one purchase: how index funds and ETFs work
  3. Equities Owning a company: what a share is and how to judge one
  4. Property Bricks, REITs and the landlord's real return
  5. Gold & Commodities Why investors hold gold, and what it costs to own
  6. Private Markets Assets that do not trade every day, and who can buy them
  7. Alternatives Infrastructure, crypto and passion assets, with the risks named

State of play

UK

Foundations · Guide

How to build a diversified portfolio across asset classes

A diversified portfolio owns things that do not all fall for the same reason at the same time. That means spreading across and within asset classes, countries and currencies, rebalancing as markets move, and keeping costs down.

By TID Editorial Desk · · 6 min read