Investment for Beginners

[Coolade]

Hi there. Long time reader but first time poster. Can I ask if there is an investment thread for beginners or can someone offer me simple advice?

I have about 15k sitting in a kids account which accrues virtually no interest. I am looking for a low-medium risk investment for approx 5years. We've been looking at Zurich's Prisma investments but we're really not equipped to discern a good investment from a bad investment. I did meet with a financial advisor in work but I was left more bewildered. This is an area which I just find very hard to understand so if there was some simplistic advice from the knowledgeable folk here I would be very grateful. Thank you.

 

[Leper]

Having lost a good few bob investing myself, I suggest you use some kind of professional financial person/agency. It’ll cost but likely will have more beneficial returns than you will going it alone.

 

[ClubMan]

Can I ask if there is an investment thread for beginners or can someone offer me simple advice?

A Money Makeover is a good place to start in my opinion. You'll generally get sensible feedback/suggestions there based on a holistic summary of your overall financial/personal circumstances. Asking where you should put €15K without reference to any other information doesn't really make much sense.

Key Post - Basic information required for the "Money Makeover" forum

It can be difficult, but please try to use a meaningful title in your thread For example "27 year old with mortgage arrears". You will get a much better and much more coherent answer if you give as much information as possible in your first post. For example, if you give your mortgage rate, it...

www.askaboutmoney.com

 

[Fortune]

. I am looking for a low-medium risk investment for approx 5years.

Your investment term is the biggest constraint here. You may be best looking to improve the interest you get (possibly by combining some fixed term deposits with regular savings accounts), or reassessing your cashflow needs (which the money makeover would help with).