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The following table lists various types of investments with a summary of the key properties of many investment types.
| Asset | Example | Typical annual return [%] | Risk | Liquidity | Notes |
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| Stocks | Apple, GE | 7 | Moderate | Moderate | Own part of a company |
| Mutual funds | VOO, PTTAX | 6 | Moderate | Low-moderate | Avoid high fees which are NOT linked to better performance (passively managed index funds typically preferable) |
| Options | | 9 | High | Moderate | |
| Savings account | | 0-1 | Very low | Very high | FDIC insured |
| Money market account | | 1-2 | Very low | Very high | FDIC insured
Minimum balance & withdrawal limits |
| CD | | 2-3 | Very low | Very low | No liquidity until expiration date |
| Peer to peer lending | Lending tree, Prosper | 4-10 | Varies | Very low | Risk of loss on each loan
Can diversify over several loans
Need to be an accredited investor |
| Digital tokens | Bitcoin, Ethereum | ? | Very high | High | Limited history (more uncertainty)
Many hacks have resulted in lost funds, but security of major exchanges improving |
| Bonds | US Govt, Corporate | Large range | Large range | Large range | Big loss if underlying entity folds
Return & risk highly dependent on issuer |
| Commodities | Oil, cattle, corn | 3 | Low | High | Alternatives: ETFs like GSG and PDBC |
| Real estate | Lease home or office space | 6 | Moderate | Very low | Significant time may be required
Alternatives: REITs, stocks like DHI, TOL, LEN, PHM |
| Foreign currency | | 9 | High | Moderate | Economic knowledge normally req’d for good returns |
| Precious metals | Gold, silver | 2 | Moderate | Low | Storage, theft, loss
Can also invest in ETFs like GLD or SLV
Can be hard for an individual to sell @ market price |
| Collectibles | Art, baseball cards | 1 | High | Moderate | Damage, storage, theft, loss
Fun for some people |
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