Pretty much every year, there are some shares that will double your money, while the stockmarket as a whole has consistently delivered annual returns averaging more than 10 per cent. Compare that to the building society, where interest rates of 10 per cent are a distant memory. And while property continues to boom, shares offer the advantage of being able to cash in quickly and at relatively low cost.
Shares can also crash, of course.
But over the long term, stockmarkets should rise - and experts say you should only put money into the markets that you do not need to touch for at least five years. You can also reduce the risk of losing out from the poor performance of one particular firm by buying investment funds or having a portfolio of different stocks. In particular, they are the easiest way to invest in foreign stockmarkets. You can also invest from as little as 25 a month. Various bond investment schemes also offer stockmarket-linked returns.