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Put up to four markets on the same ruler. The shapes do most of the explaining.
| UK gilts | Exchange-traded funds | |
|---|---|---|
| Exit difficulty | 1 | 1 |
| Volatility | 3 | 3 |
| Leverage | 1 | 1 |
| Carry cost | 1 | 1 |
| Fraud risk | 1 | 1 |
| Protection gap | 1 | 1 |
| Barrier to entry | 1 | 1 |
| Expertise needed | 2 | 1 |
| Difficulty | 9 Gentle | 6 Gentle |
| In a sentence | IOUs from HM Treasury: the benchmark for sterling interest rates, the backbone of UK pensions, and in 2022 the epicentre of a crisis that forced the Bank of England to intervene. | A fund that trades like a share, usually tracking an index for a few hundredths of a per cent a year — the most consequential financial product of the last thirty years. |
| Unit | £100 nominal | One ETF share |
| Smallest realistic trade | £100 nominal via a platform or the DMO purchase service | One share, typically £5–£500 |
| Settlement | T+1 | T+1, alongside ordinary shares |
The fingerprint measures how demanding a market is to take part in. It is not a rating or a recommendation.