Next week will see the launch of a new investment opportunity by Nationwide Building Society .

A new tranche of the society's guaranteed equity bond (GEB) will start on Monday. Growth will be linked to the FTSE 100, Nikkei 225 and DJ EuroSTOXX 50 indices.

The bond guarantees the return of the original investment as well as the greater of ten per cent guaranteed growth or up to 50 per cent of the growth in the value of the indices.

Those who make an early investment, before February 25th, in the GEB qualify for a bonus.

A GEB is ideal for those wishing to invest in the stock market but are worried about the risk involved, says the managing director of Nationwide Investments , Clive Parkinson.

The Nationwide GEB not only offers peace of mind to the investor by providing a capital guarantee, but also guarantees a minimum return of ten per cent, he says. This way, the return will always be more than the original amount that was invested.

Mr Parkinson also says that all three the indices to which the GEB is linked, performed well over the last 12 months.

He points out that they ended 2005 up by over 20 per cent, with the Nikkei up by over 40 per cent.

Linking the investment to more than one stock market gives investors a broader opportunity to share in stock market gains always underpinned by Nationwide's guarantee of a return of 110 per cent of their investment.