Have You Considered These Three Investment Methods?

LONDON, February 3, 2011 - Gone are the days of keeping one's money under the mattress or in a
shoebox on top of the wardrobe. Today, if you have money to spare, there are
dozens of ways to invest it. From financial spread betting (
www.cityindex.co.uk/spread-betting/) to investment funds and share
dealing, this article takes a look at three of the investment options
available to you.

Remember, investing money is not the same as saving it. To save is to put
your money aside without risk, usually with the benefit of interest. In
investing, the risks are high and the returns are not guaranteed, but your
money has a lot more potential to grow.

Investment Funds

Investment funds effectively combine your money with other people's to
spread it across a wider range of companies than if you were each investing
alone. In theory this makes for a lower-risk investment. The disadvantage is
that beyond selecting the fund and company you wish to use, you have no say
in where your money is invested. An independent firm manages the fund to buy
assets, generally stocks and shares, with the aim of generating the best
possible returns for you and your fellow investors.

Share Dealing

When you buy shares (also known as stocks and equities) you buy a stake
in a company and consequently co-own it with the other shareholders.

Shares are traded based on what the buyers and sellers perceive companies
to be worth at the time. This means that the prices of shares tend to
fluctuate - some more than others. If you buy shares in a company which goes
on to perform well, the value of your shares can increase and you may be able
to sell them at a profit. You might also receive a share of the profits
through dividends. If the company performs badly, however, you may not
receive dividends and your shares will lose value.

Spread Betting

Financial spread betting is a tax-free* way of trading the price
movements of markets across the globe. Spread bettors can 'go long' (buy) or
'short' (sell) on market prices, meaning that they can profit even when a
company or market is decreasing in value. You can also access the trading
platform even when you are away from your computer, as provider City Index
(www.cityindex.co.uk/) now offers a mobile spread betting app
compatible with iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Java and Windows 7. The risks
are high, and traders can lose more than their initial deposit, but financial
spread betting provides an innovative alternative to other investment
methods.

Interested in finding out more about spread betting? You can experience
it first-hand right now with a free spread betting demo account from City
Index. Sign-up takes just a few minutes and you only trade with a virtual
cash balance, so you can try out the trading platform risk-free. Find out
more at www.cityindex.co.uk/learn-to-trade/demo-account.aspx.

Alternatively, learn more by getting face-to-face with an expert at a
free spread betting seminar.

www.cityindex.co.uk/learn-to-trade/seminars.aspx for details.

About City Index:

Today more and more individual traders are discovering the benefits of
derivatives, and many of them are discovering them through a City Index
trading platform.

As a group, we transact in excess of 1.5 million trades every month for
individuals in over 50 countries worldwide. We provide access to a wide range
of instruments including margined foreign exchange, contracts for differences
(CFDs) and, in the UK, spread betting.

We constantly look to widen the range of assets we offer, improve the
performance of our platforms and expand the range of services we provide. The
result is that our customers benefit from innovative trading tools with
transparent pricing, competitive spreads, and a high standard of customer
service and support. For more information, visit

www.cityindex.co.uk/trading-platform/

Spread betting and CFD trading are leveraged products which can result in
losses greater than your initial deposit. Ensure you fully understand the
risks.

*Spread betting is exempt from UK stamp duty and UK Capital Gains Tax.
However, tax laws are subject to change and depend on individual
circumstances. Please seek independent advice if necessary.

iPhone is a trademark of Apple Inc. App Store is a service mark of Apple
Inc.

Contact: Joshua Raymond, City Index Group, Tel: +44(0)20-7107-7002, Email: joshua.raymond[at]cityindex.co.uk; Jonathan Smith / Alex Nekrassov, New Century Media, Tel: +44(0)20-7930-8033, Email: jsmith[at]newcenturymedia.co.uk / alexnekrassov[at
]newcenturymedia.co.uk