Types of Investments

Investment requires prudence. Whether the amount is small or big, you need to have complete information about the place or field where you are going to invest it. Investment is most often made with a purpose to accrue good returns in future. Investment is like a source of income where initially you put in some capital and expect it to multiply or boom in the near future. There are various types of investments nowadays and different strategies are associated with them. Investment can be in the field of property, land etc., in the stock market, in bank in the form of fixed deposits, in trusts and insurance policies.

Overall, there are different kinds of investments. These include stocks, bonds, real estate and cash. Sounds simple, right? Well, unfortunately, it gets very complicated from there. You see, each type of investment has numerous types of investments that fall under it.

There is quite a bit to learn about each different investment type. The stock market can be a big scary place for those who know little or nothing about investing. Fortunately, the amount of information that you need to learn has a direct relation to the type of investor that you are. There are also three types of investors: conservative, moderate, and aggressive. The different types of investments also cater to the two levels of risk tolerance: high risk and low risk.

Conservative investors often invest in cash. This means that they put their money in interest bearing savings accounts, money market accounts, mutual funds, US Treasury bills, and Certificates of Deposit. These are very safe investments that grow over a long period of time. These are also low risk investments.

Moderate investors often invest in cash and bonds, and may dabble in the stock market. Moderate investing may be low or moderate risks. Moderate investors often also invest in real estate, providing that it is low risk real estate.

Aggressive investors commonly do most of their investing in the stock market, which is higher risk. They also tend to invest in business ventures as well as higher risk real estate. For instance, if an aggressive investor puts his or her money into an older apartment building, then invests more money renovating the property, they are running a risk. They expect to be able to rent the apartments out for more money than the apartments are currently worth or to sell the entire property for a profit on their initial investments. In some cases, this works out just fine, and in other cases, it doesn’t. It’s a risk.

When you move out to invest say in property, the strategy of buy for low and sale for high prevails. In the language of investment this is called the ‘arbitrage’. What you require first of all is a perfect idea of the fluctuating market. When the market value is low, make as many purchases as possible. When the market as you assessed picks up pace, sell whatever you purchased at simply double the price. This profit however is not possible without a vigilant study of the market. An investor who has scrutinized the market from top to bottom predicts the highs and lows of market and makes purchases much before the onset of the profit season.

Before you start investing, it is very important that you learn about the different types of investments, and what those investments can do for you. Understand the risks involved, and pay attention to past trends as well. History does indeed repeat itself, and investors know this first hand!