INVESTORS have another two tracker bonds to consider: Bank of Ireland has brought out its seventh Guaranteed World Bond while BCP Stockbrokers is offering its latest series of Guaranteed Equity and Deposit Accounts (GEDA).

The Bank of Ireland product requires a minimum £3,000 investment over a five-year period with any growth in the indices plus an additional 30 per cent of that growth. The world stock market indices concerned are the US S&P 500, the FTSE-100, the Nikkei 300, and Continental indices (i.e. the Dutch AEX, the Swiss SMI and the French CAC). You can opt to take the tracker as a five-year, fixed-term deposit or as a five-year life assurance policy from Lifetime, Bank of Ireland's life company.

The BCP Double Growth Bond 3 is a sterling five-year bond that tracks world blue chip stocks with investors guaranteed twice the growth of these markets over the period. The GEDA bonds are different from conventional trackers in that they include what BCP describes as an "exploding option".

This means that if the markets rise by 80 per cent over the five years, the option explodes and locks in at 160 per cent growth. It is then guaranteed, and like bonuses paid out on with-profits funds, is locked in and cannot be taken away if markets fall. The other bond, GEDA 16 provides deposit interest fixed at 6 per cent (virtually the same rate offered by most other guaranteed bonds and Post Office savings products) plus 60 per cent of any growth achieved by the world blue chip stock markets. As a deposit-based product, investors can opt for Special Saving Account status which reduces the usual 27 per cent tax liability to 15 per cent DIRT.

It is worth repeating, yet again, that tracker bonds like any other investment have advantages and disadvantages. The inbuilt capital guarantees come at a price of potentially lower returns and direct equity or managed fund investments may very well provide higher returns if you can handle the risks involved. Not all trackers are the same - some offer both capital and profit guarantees, some put a cap on the overall growth levels paid out. Others boost the returns if certain levels of growth are achieved. An independent financial adviser should be able to advise on the best tracker for your needs.