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Let's say you are investing £100 per month into shares in Company A. As the share price falls, you buy more shares; as it rises, you buy less shares, as shown in the chart below. Over the 12 month period you will have:

• invested c£1,200, including the monthly investment fee of £1.50 and stamp duty;
• bought 1,248 shares at an average cost per share of 93.90p, and
• seen the price range between a low of 87p and a high of 102p.

Investing on a regular monthly basis is also a good way to build up your investments over time. Remember, our service is 'execution-only' - we don't provide investment advice, so it is important that you keep an eye on the progress of the companies you invest in and change your selection if need be. Our market data section will help you by providing price charts, news and information relating to your investments: just click on the investment name in your account to go straight to that company's information page.

Of course, monthly investing won't be the right option for everyone - if you have a capital sum to invest, for instance, you should determine if it is better for you to do so in one go. If you are unsure about using this service, you should consult an independent financial adviser before taking further action.

Simply log in, choose the account into which you want the investments to go, and then go to the available investments list.

Having chosen your preferred investment from those available, click the trade icon to go to the ‘trade page in your account. Please note that for fund purchases, clicking the trade icon will take you to the fund page where you should select the ‘regular investment’ icon. We will ask you to confirm that you have seen the relevant Simplified Prospectus or Key Investor Information Document, as appropriate. Without this confirmation, or where the relevant document is not available, we will not be able to accept your order.

If you know the investment you want to make, enter its name or market code, or click on the Which shares can I trade? link to choose from the list of available investments. Then enter your monthly investment amount, minimum £50.00.

The latest time you can give us an instruction to be included in the current month is 22:00 on the 21st of the month (i.e. the evening before the investment will take place). In setting up your regular investment instruction, you'll see the trade date on which it will become effective.

We'll then check your cash balance and, so long as you have enough available cash to make the full investment, we'll buy the investments you have chosen and add them to your account. Dealing will generally take place from 10:00 on that day.

If the number of whole shares you can buy each month doesn't take up your full monthly investment amount, the balance will be left as cash in your account and will not be rolled-up into the next month's investment.Once your purchase has taken place, you'll have full details shown in your contract note, in the usual way.

Cash surplus example

Monthly investment amount	£100.00
Purchase price per share	125p
Dealing fee	£1.50
No. shares purchased	78
Cost of shares (78 @125p)	£97.50
Stamp duty (97.50 x 0.5%)	£00.49
Total cost	£99.49
Surplus retained as cash	£00.51

You can set up more than one investment on each account type you hold with us, except CTFs where this service is not available. And you can change the amount you invest or your investment choice - but do make sure you do so ahead of the investment date: you can add, change or cancel your regular investment choice up until 22:00 on the 21st of each month.

If the company you have chosen drops out of the FTSE 100 Index it may be removed from the available investment list and existing instructions cancelled. We'll let you know if this is to be the case so that you can make an alternative selection. However, if a share, Investment trust or ETF stops being listed on the London Stock Exchange your instruction will automatically cease and we'll tell you about it via a secure message.

The list of investments will also be reviewed from time to time and any changes affecting your existing choices will be advised to you by secure message.

To make sure you have cash available for your investment, you can set up a monthly direct debit. To do so, simply complete the Direct Debit form and send it to us. Remember to allow time for us to set-up your initial instruction with your bank - this can take up to 10 working days - and allow 3 working days for each payment to reach your account ahead of the regular investment dealing cut-off time, 22:00 on the 21st of each month.

You can also pay into your account using a debit card - log in to the account and choose the Payment tab. Debit card payments (up to a maximum of £20,000 per transaction) are available for dealing immediately.

However you choose to credit your account, do remember to ensure you've funds available in your account in time to meet the cut-off point: the earliest dealing date each month will therefore be the 22nd, so the earliest date funds would need to be in place is by the 21st. Please note that we will earmark cash to pay for your investment purchase on the evening of the 21st of each month; so if you pay in before then do check you haven't used or withdrawn it ahead of it being earmarked for your regular investment order.

If you are arranging a regular credit into an ISA do bear in mind that the total amount you credit in any one tax year cannot exceed your ISA allowance. And for credits to your SIPP Dealing Account you will need to make arrangements via your SIPP Administrator, rather than crediting your account directly.