Want to buy a tracker fund with a bit of extra bite? Regular trackers simply clone the performance of the world's biggest markets without trying to beat them, but so-called 'smart trackers' try to stack the odds in investors' favour and don't charge that much more. The idea is that 'passive' index investors gain a strategic edge in the markets, but avoid the expense of employing 'active' stockpicking managers.

The British are growing bigger. According to Public Health England, a Government agency that aims to protect and improve good health, two-thirds of adults and a quarter of children under ten are overweight or obese and the trend is only getting worse. The impact on the National Health Service is immense and the Government is worried. The Gym Group is doing its bit to make people move more and eat less. The only fitness chain quoted in London, the company floated last Monday at 195p. The shares had a good week, closing at 202½p, but they still offer plenty of potential. Gym Group is different to most of the UK's other fitness clubs because members join for just a month at a time and can even do so for a day if they feel like it.

Choosing the right DIY platform is crucial but a wealth of choice and changes to charges have left many investors scratching their heads. We pick some of the best. We also highlight why investing in an Isa makes sense, as it should protect your hopefully growing investments from tax forever.

We're going to show you how you can get these big firms to pay your bills for you so you never have to fork out of your own pocket again. All it takes is a little savvy investing.The first step is to set up an investment Isa account so you can buy shares, which is easily done through a fund supermarket such as Hargreaves Lansdown or a bank such as Halifax.

Sandwiched between the 'baby boomers' and the younger 'millennials', tired parents represent an emerging lost generation of people aged between 35 and 44 who are not saving and feel disengaged from the personal finance world. Can you find three and a half hours this month to get your finances sorted, asks Holly Mackay. Here is how you could do three simple things to revitalise your finances:

If there's one thing that ties together the ragbag mix of stock markets placed under the emerging markets banner, it's that many look pretty beaten up right now. For those of us of a contrarian investing disposition, who like a promise of future growth at value prices, emerging markets look tempting. Yet, still I hesitate...

For many people now in their 40s, 50s and 60s, bedtime as a child often meant being read an extract from The Three Little Pigs, The Magic Porridge Pot or The Elves And The Shoemaker. Indeed, they have gone on to read these same stories to their own children or grandchildren. Without internet distractions, Ladybird books also kept children entertained during the day - with a Book Of Things To Make and the series of How It Works and Adventures From History. Helen Day (pictured) owns 1,500 Ladybird books and runs a dedicated website.

With his first independent fund - Woodford Equity Income - Neil Woodford has turned every £1,000 invested into £1,157 over the past year when his rivals have only managed to make an average £5. Had you put £1,000 into his Invesco Perpetual High Income fund when he took the helm in 1988, you would have had £22,286 by the time he left last year. Holly Black gets his thoughts on the investing world.

Can you explain how bond funds work (I thought they were the 'safer' option) and what effect 'derivatives' might have on the risk now and if I should consider switching out of these old-style investments? I thought derivatives were to blame for the banking crisis that pushed us all into recession!

A 'buy ten, get one free' deal and a 5 per cent discount to the stock market price will be on offer when shares in Lloyds are sold off. Broker Hargreaves Lansdown claims this offers an investor buying £1,000 worth the potential for £200 back in a year, thanks to the discount, bonus and potential dividend. So is that worth taking?

The rocky performance of UK markets since 2000 has made it more challenging to make money on five-year and even 10-year investing horizons. It's fair to ask whether we should now revise the timeframes we're prepared to invest for to 15 or 20 years. Or perhaps we should be thinking in terms of the rest of our lives?

Adverse currency trends, the commodity price rout and the supermarket price war blew a hole in profits generated by UK plc in 2014. Adverse currency trends, the commodity price rout and the supermarket price war blew a hole in profits generated by UK plc in 2014. Dividend cover is now at its lowest since the worst phase of the financial meltdown in autumn 2009, although it isn't nearly as bad as back then.

Richard Hunter screens the UK stock market for shares that pay bumper income that's well covered, in the latest episode of the Investing Show. While Maike Currie, of Fidelity, looks at what next for emerging markets and the best opportunities.

Smaller Companies funds can offer greater growth opportunities than their large cap counterparts. And when markets fell recently, the small cap index's lack of resources exposure proved a saving grace. Here we look at five small cap offerings tipped to outperform over the longer term.

In August, fear took over from greed as the major emotion playing on investors' minds, writes our columnist John Rosier. It was a poor month for markets with volatility returning as investors fretted about the outlook for world growth and the spectre of deflation. The catalyst was further sharp falls in the Chinese stock market, nearly halving since its mid-June peak, and raising fears about slowing growth in the world's second largest economy.

For all the lines about 'time in the market, not timing the market', who wouldn't want to dodge a 30 per cent drop and buy back in relatively unscathed on the other side? The problem is that it's almost certain investors won't manage to pull this off.

What should you do about investing in both shares and bonds with so many fears over the latter? Christine Johnson, of Old Mutual explains what you need to know. Also on the agenda in this show is a look at the winners and losers on the recent stock market rollercoaster and the thorny question of should the Fed raise rates?

Self-investing via an online fund supermarket is growing in popularity, despite recent stock market falls. But choosing a provider can prove a minefield. Last month, I road-tested 13 of the largest platforms that allow investors to trade shares and funds at the click of a computer mouse and hold them inside a tax-friendly Individual Savings Account or Self-Invested Personal Pension.

Some hedge funds have done very nicely out of the global market turmoil triggered by concerns about the Chinese economy. How do hedge funds work, and how do you get exposure - assuming you're willing to shoulder the risks, withstand the potential losses and pay the high fees.

New analysis by asset manager Barings, suggests a motley crew of currently struggling markets should deliver the best returns over the next decade. It used productivity, demographics and the availability of credit, alongside current valuations, to forecast how assets will fare between now and 2025. We reveal the results.

How do you track down the best income shares? Look for the opportunity for dividends to grow, is the case put forward by fund manager Hugh Yarrow in the latest episode of the Investing Show. We also look at housebuilders and whether they are still worth buying or holding after their stellar run.

While investors' favourite Neil Woodford may have produced some spectacular returns over the past ten years, some lesser-known fund managers have outperformed him, new research suggests. The top 25 beat the FTSE All Share by a significant margin, the study found, producing an average return per annum of 9.8 per cent against 7.1 per cent for the FTSE.

I'm new to investing and keen to learn more before making any rookie mistakes. Can you explain how to 'read' the figures on a balance sheet - what am I looking out for, and what criteria do you use to judge the health of a company?

Alternative investments are coming of age - with many having their fortunes plotted much like stocks and shares. We explore the alternative options and see how they compare with traditional equity markets - as well as just how deep your pockets need to be to invest.

Sarah Whitley joined Baillie Gifford's Japanese investment team in 1982 - she was there for the bubble, the crash, the lost decades, and now what promises to be recovery. Investor interest in Japan is reigniting as the big turnaround project dubbed 'Abenomics' - after ambitious leader Shinzo Abe - starts showing signs of success. Whitley met with This is Money to discuss how she goes about her job, her investing strategy and tips, and what she thinks the future holds for Japan.

We opened a one-year bond with Highgrove Osprey on 24th February last year for £5,000 - and to date, the money has not been repaid. After at least 150 phone calls and various reasons for the delay given by the firm, no payment has been made. What is the hold up?

Why are there half a dozen or more versions of the same fund listed on the performance tables, followed with abbreviations like Acc, Inc, No Trail, R, I, and Z? What do these all mean? How do I know which version of a fund I want to buy?

Investors have the opportunity for higher returns with commission-free 'clean funds', which are mostly cheaper than the old kind. But fund providers have given their clean funds a baffling array of new names - so how do you track them down?

New pension freedom rules give you greater choice when it comes to retirement income, but with it more responsibility to make sure you don't run out of money in your golden years. We look at ten points to consider when investing income for retirement - from the level of risk you can afford to take to whether it's better to invest for income or growth.