Best Low Risk Investments in UK to Watch

Low risk investments in the UK might not be as exciting as a hot new IPO or a stock that’s getting a lot of attention in the news this second. But low risk high return investments can boost your portfolio over time and remain strong even when the market takes a turn for the worse.

In this guide, we’ll highlight 10 low risk investments in the UK to watch.

10 Popular Low Risk Investments in the UK to Watch

There are many investment options when it comes to low risk investments, but here are 10 popular options:

1. S&P 500 Index
2. FTSE 100 Index
3. Amazon Shares
4. Legal & General Shares
5. Corporate Bonds
6. Government Bonds
7. Gold
8. High-interest Savings Account
9. Residential REITs
10. Target Date Mutual Funds

One difficult part of low risk investing in the UK is finding the right assets to invest in.

1. S&P 500 Index

The S&P 500 simply tracks the 500 biggest companies in the US stock market. It includes companies like Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft, and many other growth stocks. Since the fund tracks so many stocks, it also has low volatility compared to any individual stock. So, you’re protected against an isolated drop in, say, the banking sector thanks to performance in the tech sector.

2. FTSE 100 Index

The FTSE 100 index is to the UK stock market what the S&P 500 is to the US stock market. This index tracks the 100 biggest stocks on the London Stock Exchange, including enormous companies like BP, Rolls-Royce, Tesco, and Royal Mail. The fund reflects the diversification of the UK economy. You’re exposed to a number of different industries, which lowers your overall risk.

There are many FTSE 100 index ETFs in the UK, such as the iShares FTSE 100 (ticker symbol ISF).

3. Amazon Shares

Investing in individual stock shares is always riskier than investing in a diversified fund. However, Amazon shares could be a low risk high yield investment.

Amazon has an enormous moat, and not just in eCommerce. This tech giant controls an overwhelming share of the cloud computing market, which is growing in importance every day. Amazon has been slowly moving into groceries and building out its own delivery services. All of this means that the company’s revenue is diversified, which protects it from a downturn in one business segment.

4. Legal & General Shares

Legal & General is a high-yield dividend stock in the UK. The company pays out over 8% each year to investors, and that stream of cash hasn’t been interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Shares of Legal & General have low volatility compared to other stocks in the FTSE 100.

This financial services company offers a wide range of products including mortgages, pensions, life insurance, and investment management.

You can invest in Legal & General shares through any UK stock broker. Just look for the ticker symbol LGEN.

5. Corporate Bonds

Corporate bonds are debt certificates offered by companies. When you buy a corporate bond, you’re essentially giving the company a loan. The company in turn pays out interest on the bond over time and pays back the entire principle of your loan on a specified date in the future.

Corporate bonds are also graded by credit rating agencies, so you can evaluate the risk that a company will default on its bond payments before you invest. Companies with a credit rating of B+ or better are generally considered low risk investments. The higher the credit rating, the lower your return, so consider investing in B+ or A-rated corporate bonds if you want a low risk high return investment.

Note that you can also invest in bond ETFs. Just like stock ETFs, these give you exposure to a wide range of bonds in a single investment. This diversification further reduces your investing risk.

6. Government Bonds

Government bonds, or treasury bonds, work just like corporate bonds. The difference is that treasuries are backed by governments. You can invest in a bond from the UK or US governments, for example, as well as from your local township.

7. Gold

Gold is a low risk alternative investment to offset any holdings you have in the stock market. Generally, when the stock market falls, the value of gold rises. Historically, the value of gold has gone up over the long-term. This safe investment asset is used by many financial advisors, especially if your portfolio mainly consists of stocks and bonds.

There are several ways to invest in gold. The direct way is to buy physical gold, but this isn’t always a practical solution. Not only do you have to store the gold safely, but you typically need to pay a sales commission to sell it for cash.

8. High-interest Savings Account

With savings accounts, you receive consistent interest payments on your investment and your deposit is guaranteed by the UK government.

9. Residential REITs

Investing in real estate can be relatively low risk if you stick to residential properties and mortgages. People will always want to buy homes, after all, and the vast majority of people can be counted on to pay back their mortgages on schedule.

Once again, diversification is key. It’s a lot riskier to invest in a single mortgage than it is to invest in thousands of mortgages. That’s where REITs, or real estate investment trusts, come into play. These are essentially ETFs for real estate, which invests in thousands of properties and mortgages in the UK, US, and elsewhere.

10. Target Date Mutual Funds

If you’re looking for a low risk investment to help you meet your retirement goals, consider a target-date mutual fund. These funds are similar to ETFs in that they give you exposure to a wide range of assets, including low risk stocks, bonds, and real estate. However, mutual funds are actively managed. This typically brings higher fund fees, but it also means that your fund can respond as market conditions change over time.

What’s especially nice about target-date mutual funds is that they account for how your investing needs change over time. As you get closer to retirement, for example, you want to be invested with assets that have low volatility. Target date mutual funds will slowly shift from more aggressive to lower risk investments as you approach retirement, giving you a blend of low risk and high performance.

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Platforms Offering Low Risk Investments UK

In order to get started with low risk investing, you’ll need the right brokerage by your side. UK brokers offer commission-free investing and a wide range of assets to help you diversify your investment portfolio. Look for investing tools that can assist you in choosing low risk investments for your needs.

1. IG

If you want to invest for retirement with low risk, it’s worth considering IG. This venerable UK broker offers a stocks and shares ISA (individual savings account) in addition to a general investing account. That means that you can invest up to £20,000 per year and pay no capital gains tax on your investment profits. As a long term investment, that can add up to a huge amount in savings that you can then reinvest in the low risk investments.

IG is somewhat more expensive than Plus500. Unfortunately, IG charges a commission for share dealing that can be up to £8 per trade for UK shares and ETFs and £10 per trade for US shares and ETFs. This slightly increases your investment risk, since you need to see a bigger profit from your investments to make up for your commission payments.

Still, it’s hard to argue with IG’s selection of assets. You can access thousands of ETFs from the US and UK through this broker, including hundreds of REITs. IG also allows you to invest in individual corporate and government bonds in addition to bond ETFs. This broker also carries a range of mutual funds, including target-date funds designed specifically for retirement investing.

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What are Low Risk Investments?

Low risk investments keep your financial risk to a minimum. That means that the amount you could lose under normal market conditions is small compared to other types of investments.

There isn’t a strict definition of what constitutes ‘low risk,’ as this depends on your tolerance for financial losses. However, low risk investments in the UK are typically those that have a small downside compared to, say, investing in individual stocks.

When you buy shares, for example, you could lose 20% or more of your investment if the company runs into trouble or the market crashes. With a low risk investment, you might expect to lose 10% or less even if the market tumbles.

Keep in mind that low risk doesn’t mean no risk. In some rare cases, low risk investments can end up losing more money than investments that look riskier. For example, it is possible that the US government defaults on its treasury bond payments, leaving you with a significant financial loss. However, this is considered low risk because the US government has never before defaulted on debt payments, and such an event seems unlikely.

Conclusion

Low risk investments can help you grow your wealth over time while limiting your potential losses in the event of a market downturn. Low risk doesn’t have to mean low reward, either. Many low risk investments offer returns comparable to higher risk assets, and diversified portfolios can be much more effective than single investments for long-term investors.