Educational information, not financial advice or a personal recommendation. Not regulated by the FCA. Do your own research. Capital at risk.
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Where do I start?

Turn a plain question into a filter

If you do not yet know what to look for, start here. Each of these turns a plain question into a filter on published figures and shows you every name that meets it. Nothing on this page picks anything for you.

Read this first.

These are starting points, not selections. Each one opens the screener with a stated condition applied, and the screener lists everything meeting that condition in alphabetical order. Meeting a condition tells you something about a company's numbers, not whether it is a sensible holding for you.

Start here

What do you want it to do?

I want to be paid something while I hold itCompanies that hand a slice of their profit to shareholders each year.Opens the screener showing every name that pays a dividend above 3%.Worth knowing: A high yield can mean the price has fallen because the market expects a cut.I want companies that are getting biggerBusinesses whose sales grew quickly over the last year.Opens the screener showing every name whose sales grew more than 15%.Worth knowing: One fast year is not a trend, and growing often costs money.I want names I have actually heard ofThe largest companies on the market, which tend to be the familiar ones.Opens the screener showing every name worth more than 100bn in its own market's currency.Worth knowing: Recognising a name tells you it is big, not that it is a good holding. Large companies fall too.I would rather not pick single companiesOne fund holds many companies at once, so a single purchase spreads your money.Opens the screener showing funds and ETFs only.Worth knowing: The fund's own annual charge comes off your return every year.
Or by industry

What kind of business interests you?

Each of these is the company's own published industry classification, not our label for it.

TechnologySoftware, chips, computing and the companies behind them.Opens the screener showing every technology company.Worth knowing: The most talked-about industry is also the one where expectations are already highest.Chip makersThe companies making the processors behind artificial intelligence, and the firms supplying the machines that make them.Opens the screener showing every company whose published industry is Semiconductors or Semiconductor Equipment & Materials.Worth knowing: Expectation is already in the price here, and chip demand has always run in sharp cycles both ways.Healthcare and medicineDrug makers, medical equipment and health services.Opens the screener showing every healthcare and pharmaceutical company.Worth knowing: One drug trial or patent expiry can change the picture for a whole company.Banks and insurersThe businesses that lend, insure and move money around.Opens the screener showing every bank, insurer and financial company.Worth knowing: These move with interest rates and the wider economy more than most.Everyday essentialsFood, drink, household and personal goods people keep needing regardless.Opens the screener showing every everyday-essentials company.Worth knowing: Steady demand rarely means fast growth, and own-brand rivals compete on price.Energy and oilCompanies that produce, move and supply energy.Opens the screener showing every energy company.Worth knowing: Profits here follow commodity prices, which nobody controls.Industry and manufacturingMachinery, transport, building and the businesses that supply them.Opens the screener showing every industrial company.Worth knowing: These tend to rise and fall with the wider economic cycle.

None of these is better than the others, and the numbers behind them are not verdicts. A figure only means something once you know the industry, the year and the accounting behind it, which is what each name's own page is for.

Happy to set your own conditions? Go straight to the screener. Not sure what these words mean yet? The plain-English basics and the glossary come first.