A new
investments bond has been launched that may be of interest to
consumers looking to guarantee returns.
Available from today, Nationwide's guaranteed-equity
bond will return the capital invested in the product after the
initial five-year term.
Moreover,
investors will also receive 65 per cent of any growth in the
value of the
FTSE 100
share index, the Nikkei 225 and the DJ EuroSTOXX 50 during the
interim.
Alternatively, bondholders can receive a guaranteed ten per cent
return on their original
investments, if this option proves to offer better
returns.
Clive Parkinson, managing director of Nationwide
Investment Group, explained who he thought the investments
option might appeal to.
The Nationwide GEB [guaranteed-equity bond] is ideal for
people who wish to invest in the
stock market but have concerns about the risk involved,
he said.
The return is always more than the original amount
invested.
Last week, Alex Veys, fixed-income
portfolio manager at investments management group Fidelity
International, told bondholders that inflationary pressures should
not have a significant impact upon returns in the sector.
Mr Veys argued that concern about inflation was a red
herring in relation to
bonds .