What is the Sharemarket?
For many people the role of the sharemarket and the wide variety of investment products spruiked by salespeople can be confusing. To start with we need to put the sharemarket in context with the wider investment alternatives. For most people there are basically only three types of investment assets available-shares (sometimes called equities), property and fixed interest (incorporating cash). You can invest directly in these asset classes or indirectly via a fund manager who charges a fee for the service. Fund managers package these investment assets in different proportions to reflect differing levels of risk, and the products created are given indicative names (for example capital guaranteed, capital secure or market linked). Other products, provided they satisfy the government criteria, operate under different tax laws (for example, superannuation, investment bonds, pooled development funds). Despite the initial confusion created by these names, just remember that the variations are
