Investing is very much a culture within society, especially when taking financial advice. How we save, how we spend, and what we do with our money differs greatly from country to country. That is why the world stock markets and international trading is such a complicated issue. A recession will affect one country very differently to how it will affect another. Whilst one country may back austerity measures, another may go in completely the other direction, often depending on financial advice given to them. Financial advisors UK may differ greatly in their advice to other nations.

The biggest distinction the UK has is our investment in property. The UK has some of the highest property prices in the world (as you probably already know), partly driven by such a wide consumer market. In France and Germany, the tradition is to rent, whereby the British are always keen to get on the property ladder as soon as possible. Since property is such a huge investment, it affects how much money we have left over for other investments.

It is true that the property market has grown hugely in the UK. People who invested in property over the last few decades and built up an extensive property portfolio make up a large proportion of the UKs millionaires. This was often without the help of asset management, wealth management or an independent financial advisor. It is a reasonably secure investment and people feel like they are getting something for their money, you can see, touch and feel the bricks and mortar. This coupled with the fact that people often live in their investments, had only bolstered the property market further.

However there is one overriding and important downside to investing in property. There is no liquidity. You can’t simply sell you downstairs bathroom. When investing in the stock markets, especially when using an Independent Financial Advisor, you can sell up any proportion of your investment at any time. Many of those who went bankrupt or insolvent during the financial crisis were due to having money tied up in property that they then couldn’t get out. Many people still have money stuck in property investments as they wait for the market to recover to they don’t lose their original capital.

When investing in unit trusts you are buying “units” within that investment fund. Therefore, you can sell part of your unit at any time. Therefore in a crisis, you could dis-invest part of you investment to pay off any outstanding debt, whilst preserving your capital within the market as you wait for the economy to recover. It is this liquidity within unit trust investments that is one of their biggest selling factors. You will find very few other, if any, types of investments that will offer you the same flexibility, but remember it is often advisable to use asset management of wealth management professionals.

The tides are changing in Briton. We are seeing the young move towards letting rather than buying. This could change the landscape of how we invest in the future, and where we place the bulk of our money. The stock markets and their relative funds are becoming a bigger market, and a real place to consider.

Please note that these articles are written by finance journalists, who are not qualified financial advisors UK, and therefore nothing in this articles quantifies as finance advice.