First investment

George_shepherd

I am currently studying at university and about to start a 15 month industrial placement. While I’ll be living at home and getting travel expenses paid for I hope by the end of the placement to have saved £10-15k. After this placamemet year I will be returning to do my final year at University and then from there hopefully start my first job.

I hope to invest the money in some sort of way, rather than spending the money or have it sit in my bank while I finish my degree.

As i am still young and don’t have any experience or knowledge of investing, i would like some advice on any options available into where I could invest my money

Thanks George

msallen

It sounds as though you may want access to (some of) it within a couple of years - perhaps to set up your first home after uni.

Anything which you require access to over the next few years should be saved (i.e. in a savings account) rather than invested (i.e. in stocks and shares) otherwise you have a much increased risk of ending up with less than you started with.

If (some of) it is going to go towards getting on the property ladder then either a Help-to-buy ISA or a Lifetime ISA would give you you a boost on the amount saved.

The bottom line, is that before anyone can help you, you need to decided what this money is going to be for and/or when you're going to want access to it.

Albermarle

where I could invest my money

Just to be 100% clear :
Investing means taking a risk with your money in the hope of getting a better return than in a savings account . By risk it is not usually meant the risk of losing everything ( although this can happen with some non mainstream products and /or scams) but the risk of the value of your investments going down, in return for the possibility they will go up . Typically investments in the stock market will go up over the long term, but with a lot of ups and down inbetween and nothing is guaranteed.
Saving means putting your money in a bank/building society savings account with a known interest rate . If you need your money back it has to be repaid in full + the interest . The government guarantees to pay you back if there is a problem with the bank ( up to a max £85K) . The problem is that the interest rate is not very high .
You need to be clear on the difference between the two, and then answer the question from the previous poster to get more guidance.

george4064

If I were you, I'd ivvest the money in the stockmarket. Something like a simple world equity fund, such as Vanguard LifesmStrategy or a 100% world equity passive tracker fund or ETF.

I think since you're young and living at home, you can afford to take that risk. If left invested for long term (10 years plus) you should have a tidy first house/flat deposit.

I would suggest either investing it in all in a stocks & shares ISA. Or alternatively, invest the max in a LISA and the rest in a stocks & shares ISA.

Alternatively if you prefer lower risk stuff you can stick it in the bank, Lower returns but no risk.

Or, you could max out your LISA, then split the rest between saving accounts and S&S ISA.

MaxiRobriguez

This fella will probably want access to the money upon completion of university. Stock market isn't a wise choice at this moment in time given equity prices at the moment. If op isn't London based then £15k might, just might, be enough deposit for a house.

Apodemus

The above is, of course, the correct advice, no question. But...

When I was at the same stage of life as the OP, during bored sessions studying in the library, I got side-tracked by shelf of old books on investment. I started watching share prices, reading company accounts, drawing charts of moving averages (we’re talking before spreadsheets were invented!) and buying individual company shares. Definitely against all current wisdom and I made a few bad choices, but I learned a lot and don’t regret it for a moment!