What are my investment options?
Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Rather spread your investments across a number of investment options, advises Glynnis Byron, head of marketing at Coronation Fund Managers. “This way, if you do suffer losses on one asset, you may enjoy gains on another.”

Investments fall into four main asset classes: c a s h , s h a re s , f i xe d – interest and property. And unit trusts can offer a nifty way to invest in all of them. Glynnis talked us throughthe options:

1. CASH

What are cash investments?
With a cash investment you essentially earn interest for lending money to a bank. This sounds more glamorous than it is. These investments include your savings account, bank deposits and money market funds.

Cash investment options

How do I organise a cash investment?
Most banks offer the above investment options, but it is worth shopping around to compare interest rates. Money market funds can also be organised through unit trust management companies.

2. SHARES (equity)

What is a share?
A share essentially gives you part-ownership in a company that is listed on the stock exchange. While shares tend to be the most volatile class of assets – share prices can move dramatically over short periods of time – they also tend to produce the highest returns over the long term.

How do I make money from share investments?

How do I buy shares?
Shares can be bought or sold through a stockbroker, or traded on the Internet. To learn more, take a look at the Johannesburg Securities Exchange website, www.jse.co.za, or at the share trading website. Online trading has opened the way to modest investors.

3. BONDS (or fixed-interest investments)

What are fixed-interest investments?
In essence, a bond is an IOU issued by the government, a municipality or a parastatal (such as Telkom or Eskom). In exchange for borrowing your money, they promise to pay it back on a specified date, with periodic interest payments in-between. Known as coupon payments, these are usually made every six months, and the maturity date of bonds can be anywhere between one and 20 years.

How can I make money from bonds?

5. UNIT TRUSTS

What is a unit trust?
Unit trusts offer an easy, convenient way to invest in all of the above. Your investment is pooled with the investments of others into a single portfolio and then invested by portfolio manager into cash, shares, bonds and property, according to the unit trust's mandate.

How do I choose a unit trust?

Once you are familiar with all the options you can speak to a financial adviser about what is best for your lifestyle and income bracket.