5 easy stocks and shares funds for your ISA

*article written before ISA changes announced in this week's Budget

For the uninitiated, moving into the world of investing can seem a daunting undertaking.

The money you squirrel away will be at the mercy of markets and you may not get back what you put in. You also need to be committed, with five years generally cited as the minimum time horizon.

However, history shows that investing is likely to deliver positive returns over a five to 10 year period and it can help your cash stay ahead of inflation, the "silent assassin of savings", leaving you with real purchasing power over the long run. If, for example, you had been brave enough to invest in the UK market at the nadir of the financial crisis, in March 2009, you would have since enjoyed a 120% gain.

First, ask yourself what you want to achieve - are you investing for long-term growth, income or a combination of both? Do you have a monetary target? Are you saving up for a deposit for a property in a few years' time, or maybe university fees for children? Having a broad investment plan should help you decide not only how much money you are willing to invest but also what level of risk you are prepared to take.

Regular savings work well for the first-time investor, as they allow you to dip your toe in. Given that the annual individual savings account (ISA) limit is £15,240, rather than throwing a large lump sum into the market, you are better off drip-feeding money in on a monthly basis, this way you are limiting the impact of any market falls on your capital.

If you invested just £100 a month, after 10 years, assuming average growth of 5% per annum, you would be sitting on an investment worth some £15,000.

We highlight five investment funds to help get you started.

HSBC FTSE All Share Index

Gavin Haynes, managing director at wealth manager Whitechurch Securities, believes first time investors should consider a basic UK tracker fund. Such products, sometimes referred to as passive funds, are essentially run by a computer programme and merely track a particular market such as the FTSE 100. There is no professional fund manager in the driving seat picking and choosing shares on your behalf, so your capital will rise and fall in line with the market.

Haynes says: "Tracker funds are the lowest-cost and simplest way to gain stockmarket exposure."

For novices, he recommends the £962 million HSBC FTSE All Share Index fund, which looks to replicate the performance of the broader UK market. Over the past five years it has delivered a total return of 20% and, because it is a tracker fund, it comes at a knock-down, bargain price, with an annual ongoing charge of just 0.07%.

Fidelity Index World

Martin Bamford, a chartered financial planner at Informed Choice, suggests another passive fund, Fidelity Index World. In this case, the £265 million portfolio aims to deliver long-term capital growth by closely mirroring the performance of the MSCI World Index, which tracks stocks globally.

Given its worldwide remit, the fund has investments in some of the planet's biggest household names, including technology giants Apple and Microsoft.

Originally launched in December 2012, over the past three years it has achieved a total return of 28% to its investors. Bamford believes, with its "very low" annual ongoing charges of some 0.15%, that it not only offers value for money but "good diversification across different equity markets worldwide".

CF Woodford Equity Income

Among actively managed funds, which are run by professional fund managers who aim to beat stockmarket performance, Gavin Haynes picks CF Woodford Equity Income Fund as a good options for novice investors. This fund is run by one of the UK's most celebrated investors, Neil Woodford, who previously - during the 25 years when he ran the Invesco Perpetual High Income fund - managed to turn a £10,000 investment into £230,000.

Woodford focuses on delivering income alongside capital growth by investing in UK dividend-paying firms - in other words, corporations which share their profits with their investors. His latest venture only launched in June 2014 but is already more than £8.3 billion in size, and has since delivered a total return of 15%.

Haynes says: "The manager has an exceptional track record and the fund provides a good core holding of UK blue-chip-focused shares, with a fee of 0.75%."

Jupiter High Income

Another alternative, which Martin Bamford believes offers decent diversification, is Jupiter High Income. This fund, like the Woodford fund, aims to deliver a high and rising income stream, as well as capital growth, to its investors and carries a historic dividend yield of 4%.

Co-manager Alastair Gunn has a "value" bias where he seeks out companies which he believes appear under-rated by the market. Launched in 1996, today it counts HSBC, Vodafone and pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca among its top holdings and, over the past five years, the vehicle has delivered a total return of 39% to its investors.

Bamford says: "It has a 20-year track record and has delivered consistently good performance. Its ongoing charge at 1.05% is higher than a typical index tracker fund, but the fund group manages to add value through selecting modestly valued companies with a good track record of growing profits."

F&C MM Navigator Distribution

For investors looking for globally diversified, ready-made investment portfolio, Scott Gallacher, a chartered financial planner with Rowley Turton, recommends the £1.1 billion F&C MM Navigator Distribution fund.

This portfolio is a fund of funds, in that invests in other investment vehicles with the aim of spreading risk. Its objective is to provide income, with some capital growth, by investing in a wide spread of UK and international funds which invest in both shares and bonds.

Gallacher says: "The fund managers Rob Burdett and Gary Potter run the portfolio on a fairly defensive basis. I understand they regard this as 'the fund for their mothers-in-law' - they are very keen on the fund not losing significant money."

As it invests in a range of funds, it comes at a higher price, with an annual ongoing charge of 1.47%, but it boasts a decent historic income yield of 4.6% and, over the past five years, has returned 24%.

*(All performance to 20 January 2016, source: FE Analytics)

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.