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Disclaimer: education, not financial advice

Invest in ETFs explains how investing works. It doesn’t tell you what to do with your money. Please read this before you act on anything you read here.

Education, not advice

Invest in ETFs explains how exchange-traded funds and investing work, and what the evidence and the rules say. It is general information, for education only.

The site doesn’t know your objectives, financial situation, needs, knowledge, experience or attitude to risk, and doesn’t take them into account. So nothing on it is a personal recommendation, and nothing on it should be read as telling you what you should do.

Nothing on this site is an offer, invitation or inducement to buy or sell any investment, or to use any particular firm or service.

This site isn't regulated

Neither Invest in ETFs nor its author is authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority to give investment advice or to arrange investments.

That matters. Because nothing here is regulated advice, you can’t complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service, or claim compensation from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, about anything you read on this site. Those protections apply to regulated firms and the services they provide.

Products, providers and platforms

Guides sometimes name a fund, ETF, index, fund provider, platform or bank. That’s only to explain a point with a real example, or to compare facts. It isn’t a recommendation or an endorsement, and a product being mentioned doesn’t mean it’s suitable for you.

Charges, features, rules and prices change. Before you use any product or service, check the provider’s own up-to-date documents, such as its factsheet, key information and terms, and check the firm on the FCA register.

The site has no commercial relationship with any of the firms it mentions. It receives no payment, commission, free products or other benefit from them.

Investing involves risk

  • The value of investments, and any income from them, can fall as well as rise. You may get back less than you put in.
  • Past performance is not a reliable guide to future returns. The long-run data, charts and research on this site describe what happened in the past. They don’t predict what will happen next.
  • Investments held in other currencies can rise or fall in value because exchange rates change.
  • Some products carry extra risks of their own, for example ETFs that use derivatives or borrowing. Where a guide covers such a product it explains the main risks, but no guide covers every risk.
  • Tax wrappers such as ISAs and pensions change how investments are taxed, not how risky they are.

Tax and rules

Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change in future. The guides describe UK rules for the tax year shown on each page. Some rules, such as income tax rates, are different in Scotland.

Allowances, limits and rules change, often each April. Check the current position on GOV.UK before you act, and get professional tax advice if your situation is complicated.

Calculators, charts and data

The fee calculator, the returns explorer and the charts give illustrations. They’re based on your inputs, the assumptions shown on each page and historical data. They aren’t forecasts, guarantees or advice, and real results will differ.

Unless a page says otherwise, illustrations may leave out real-world costs and taxes, such as platform fees, dealing charges, spreads and tax. Data from third parties, such as the Macrohistory Database, index providers and fund factsheets, is used as published and may contain errors.

Accuracy

Every guide is researched from primary sources, which are linked, and shows when it was last reviewed. Even so, mistakes happen, rules change and information goes out of date. The site makes no promise that anything on it is complete, accurate or current.

Check important facts against the sources linked on each page before you rely on them. If you spot an error, please report it. Corrections are listed on the corrections page.

Links to other websites are there for information and to show where facts come from. Invest in ETFs doesn’t control those sites and isn’t responsible for their content, accuracy or availability. A link isn’t an endorsement.

Scams

Invest in ETFs never sells investments, never asks you for money and never contacts people to offer investments. If anyone claims to be from this site and offers you an investment, it’s a scam.

Before you deal with any firm, check it on the FCA register and read the FCA’s advice on protecting yourself from scams.

Where to get help

  • MoneyHelper: free, impartial guidance, backed by government.
  • Pension Wise: free guidance on your options if you’re 50 or over with a defined contribution pension.
  • A regulated financial adviser: personal advice that takes your circumstances into account. Check any adviser on the FCA register first, and ask what the advice will cost before you start.

Your decisions are your own

You use this site at your own risk, and any decision you make is yours. To the fullest extent the law allows, Invest in ETFs and its author accept no liability for any loss or damage, direct or indirect, arising from your use of the site or from relying on anything on it.

Nothing in this disclaimer limits or excludes any liability that cannot be limited or excluded by law.

The author

The Off-Duty Economist writes in a personal capacity, in his own time. The views on this site are his own. They don’t represent any employer, university or other organisation, and none of them has reviewed or approved the content. More about the author.

The author holds ETFs across a variety of industry sectors. This site isn’t here to ask you to invest or to share his investments. It’s here to explain how investing works if you’ve never invested before.

Changes to this disclaimer

This disclaimer may be updated from time to time, and the current version always applies. Last updated 14 October 2026.