When it comes to investing in shares many individuals are tempted to use the services of managed funds, allowing somebody else to make their investment decisions for them. Now comes the bad news. There have been numerous studies of managed fund performance over the years and the conclusions are nearly always the same - most managed funds underperform against the market in which they are investing. What this means is, if a particular market has delivered returns of 10% over the past year, the majority of managed funds will deliver a return of less than 10%. The most important contributing factor that is cited as to why managed funds underperform is nearly always the same - fees. When you place money with a managed fund you will inevitably incur charges and it is these very charges that will damage your rates of return.

But what is the alternative? To be a successful share investor, there are two questions you should always ask before buying shares in any company:

Is the company well managed?
Investing in a company that is badly managed is a sure-fire way to lose money.

Is the share fairly priced?
Overpaying for a share will damage your returns.

Traditionally answering both of these questions would involve spending hours reviewing a company's trading results, studying share price charts, reading analysts' reports, checking for news alerts and so the list goes on. Fortunately this is no longer the case. With access to up to twenty years' detailed trading history for every company listed on the London Stock Exchange, coupled with live share price data, the latest analysts' forecasts and live news feeds, the Share Finder Service does all the hard work for you.

You are just four easy steps away from building your own share portfolio:

After you receive your first Share Finder Service report, two forms of report are then available:

Company search report
Based on your responses to a few simple questions, this report details the twenty companies that appear to most closely match your requirements. This report is most useful when looking for new investment opportunities.

Company review report
This report assesses the performance of up to fifty companies that are specified by you. This report is most useful when conducting a periodic review of your existing portfolio.

For each company reported upon a unique three-page Company Performance Summary is provided:

Page 1 - Company overview

Page 2 - Assessment of trading and share price performance over the past 5 years

Page 3 - Detailed review of trading performance over the past 2 years, highlighting any evident strengths and weaknesses within the business

A key feature of the Company Performance Summary is all the technical measures normally associated with the world of investing are replaced with easy to understand star ratings.

Full details of how to interpret these reports are provided in the Investor's Guide you will receive when you register for the service.

Additional Share Finder Service reports are available to registered users of the Share Finder Service for just £25 each. Two forms of report are available: Company Search Report and Company Review Report.


Company Search Report
Based on your responses to a few simple questions, this report details the twenty companies that appear to most closely match your requirements. This report is most useful when looking for new investment opportunities.

Investment objective

Growth Value Income Growth & Value Growth & Income Value & Income Growth, Value & Income

Risk profile

Low Medium High

Include investment trusts?

No Yes

Full name

Membership number

Full name

Membership number

In line with our philosophy of keeping share investing simple, we like to keep our terms and conditions simple too.

First of all some definitions
"We" means Insight Investing (a trading division of Insight Financial Consulting Limited), Insight House, PO Box 1096, Aylesbury, HP22 9QF, United Kingdom.

"You" means the customer who is making the purchase.

"The Service" means the Share Finder Service.

"The Website" means the Insight Investing website www.insight-investing.com.

"The Report" means the Share Finder Service report.

General
The Share Finder Service provides reports which are intended to aid investors locate companies that may meet their investment needs. These reports are only available to registered users of the Service and are charged at the prevailing rate as displayed on the Website. Please note the Service is only available to residents within the United Kingdom.

Registration
Accessing the Share Finder Service requires payment of a one-off registration fee which is chargeable at the prevailing rate as stated on the Website. Upon successful registration you will receive our unique Investor's Guide and a voucher entitling you to your first Share Finder Service report. Registration for the Service will constitute your acceptance and agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.

Requests for additional Share Finder Service reports
Payment is due with order. If payment is not received or the payment method is declined, the order will be cancelled.

Delivery
Investor's Guide
When registering for the Share Finder Service, we aim to dispatch your Investor's Guide to the United Kingdom postal address specified by you within two working days of payment being received, subject to stock availability. Investor's Guides are sent using Royal Mail's UK standard post and you should expect to receive your guide within five working days of registration.

Share Finder Service Report
When ordering a Share Finder Service report, we aim to send out the Report by close of business the next working day. Reports will be emailed to the email address specified by you as a portable document file (pdf).

Refund policy
Registration
If for any reason you are not totally delighted with your Investor's Guide, providing you return it within 14 days of receipt in its original condition along with the unused Share Finder Service report voucher, you will receive a full refund of the registration fee. Please note, in order to keep our pricing as competitive as possible, we are unable to refund the cost of return postage. Furthermore, we cannot be held responsible for returned Investor's Guides that become lost in transit, so we strongly recommend you use a recorded delivery service and keep a record of this.

Share Finder Service Report
As work often commences on the production of reports as soon as requests are processed, we are unable to issue refunds on orders for Share Finder Service reports. Please bear this in mind before placing your order.

Limitation of liability
The contents of the Website, the Investor's Guide and the Share Finder Service reports are for your general use only and are not intended to address your specific personal circumstances. In particular, the information provided does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by Insight Investing and is not intended to be relied upon when making or refraining from making any investment decisions. Although Insight Investing endeavours to provide accurate and timely information, there can be no guarantee that such information is accurate as of the date it is released, or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. Shares should be viewed as a long-term investment and no guarantees can be assigned to future performance. You should exercise caution when making any investment decision and any such decisions made by you are at your sole risk and responsibility.

Copyright
The contents of the Website, the Investor's Guide and the Share Finder Service reports are protected by copyright. None of the contents may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any other form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of Insight Investing.

Amendments to these terms and conditions
Insight Investing reserves the right to amend these terms and conditions from time to time and your continued use of the Share Finder Service will signify your acceptance of any such amendments.

How much does the Share Finder Service cost?
To access the Share Finder Service there is a one-off registration fee of £50. Upon successful registration, you will receive our unique Investor's Guide and a voucher for your first Share Finder Service report. Thereafter, you can order additional reports for just £25 each.

What form of payment do you accept?
PayPal is our preferred partner for the processing of all online payments. If you do not have a PayPal account you can pay by Visa, MasterCard or American Express.

Do I need prior knowledge of how the Stock Market works to use this service?
Absolutely not. Upon successful registration you will receive our unique Investors' Guide which covers all the skills and understanding you will need to take full advantage of the Share Finder Service.

What does the Investor's Guide cover?
When you register for the Share Finder Service you will receive a copy of our unique Investor's Guide, providing all the skills and understanding you need to be a successful investor. Topics covered include:

● How to spot a well-managed company
● How to spot a well-priced share
● How to open a trading account
● How to build a profitable share portfolio
● How to make sure you are tax efficient

And much more...

You are strongly advised to read the Investor's Guide in its entirety before making any investment decisions.

What information do I need to provide in order to obtain a report?
The information required depends upon the sort of report you are requesting.

If you are requesting a Company Search Report, you will be asked to provide some information regarding your investment preferences:

What is your investment objective?
You have three options - growth, value and income (or any combination of these).

What is your attitude to risk?
You have three options - low, medium or high.

Do you want to include investment trusts?
Investment trusts do not trade like regular companies: they simply buy shares in other companies and it is how those shares perform that will determine your returns. You must decide whether or not you wish to include this form of investment in the company search.

Full details on how to answer these questions, and how the answers will affect the subsequent company search, are provided in the Investor's Guide which you will receive when you register for the Share Finder Service.

If you are requesting a Company Review Report you simply need to provide the names of the companies you wish to review (up to a maximum of fifty companies).

How long does it take to prepare a Share Finder Service report?
Upon receipt of your order request, we endeavour to issue it by close of business on the next working day.

What format does the report take?
The report is sent to you via email as a portable document file (pdf).

What does a Share Finder Service report look like?
For each company being reported upon a three-page Company Performance Summary is provided:

Page 1 - Company overview
Page 2 - Assessment of trading and share price performance over the past 5 years
Page 3 - Detailed review of trading performance over the past 2 years, highlighting any evident strengths and weaknesses within the business

Full details on how to interpret and use these summaries are provided in the Investor's Guide you will receive when you register for the Share Finder Service.

Why does the Share Finder Service only look at companies listed on the London Stock Exchange?
When you invest in the shares of any company you are assuming business risk. If the business fails you could end up losing some or possibly all of your investment. Fortunately, by developing a well-diversified portfolio coupled with careful company selection, this risk can be kept to a minimum. However, if you invest in companies overseas you are assuming a second risk - exchange rate risk. Suppose you buy $1,000 worth of shares in a company quoted on the New York Stock Exchange and you end up subsequently selling them for $1,100. If the US dollar in the meantime has weakened against the pound by 20% you will end up getting back less than you invested. The company may have delivered a positive return to its shareholders but you will still end up worse off: this is exchange rate risk. This second risk can be minimised by confining attention to companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.

When should I request a Share Finder Service report?
You should consider ordering a Company Search Report whenever you intend to make a new share purchase. In addition, it is good practice to review your share portfolio from time to time - at least once a year. This is when a Company Review Report can prove invaluable.