Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Investment shopping experience:
1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Investment offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Investment at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.
2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about
3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Investment? Wrong! If the Investment is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.
4. Questions - Got a question about Investment then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....
5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Investment? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Investment and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.
6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Investment wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.
7. Feedback - happy with your Investment then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.
8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Investment site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site
9. Contact - got a question about Investment, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.
10. Payment - ready to pay for your Investment, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.
Investment or
investingBritish English and American English, respectively. is a term with several closely-related meanings in business management, finance and economics, related to
Saving (money) or deferring Consumption (economics). An
asset is usually purchased, or equivalently a deposit is made in a bank, in hopes of getting a future
return (finance) or interest from it. The word originates in the Latin "vestis", meaning garment, and refers to the act of putting things (money or other claims to resources) into others' pockets.
Types of investment
The term "investment" is used differently in economics and in finance. Economists refer to a real investment (such as a machine or a house), while financial economists refer to a financial asset, such as money that is put into a bank or the market, which may then be used to buy a real asset.
Returns on investments will follow the
risk-return spectrum.
Business Management
The investment decision (also known as
capital budgeting) is one of the fundamental decisions of business management: managers determine the assets that the business enterprise obtains. These assets may be physical (such as buildings or machinery), intangible (such as patents, software, goodwill), or financial (see below). The manager must assess whether the net present value of the investment to the enterprise is positive; the net present value is calculated using the enterprise's marginal cost of capital.
A business might invest with the goal of making profit. These are called marketable securities or passive investment. It might also invest with the goal of
controlling or influencing the operation of the second company, the investee. These are called intercorporate, long-term and strategic investments. Hence, a company can have none, some or total control over the investee 's strategic, operating, investing and financing decisions. One can control a company by owning over 50% ownership, or have the ability to elect a majority of the
Board of Directors.
Economics
In
economics, investment is the production per unit time of
Good (economics and accounting) which are not consumed but are to be used for future production. Examples include tangibles (such as building a railroad or
factory) and intangibles (such as a year of schooling or on-the-job training). In measures of national income and output, gross investment
I is also a component of Gross domestic product (GDP), given in the formula
GDP = C + I + G + NX.
I is divided into non-residential investment (such as factories) and residential investment (new houses). "Net" investment deducts depreciation from gross investment. It is the value of the net increase in the capital stock per year.
Investment, as production over a period of time ("per year"), is not
capital (economics). The time dimension of investment makes it a
Stock vs. flow (economics). By contrast, capital is a
stock, that is, an accumulation measurable
at a point in time (say December 31st).
Investment is often modeled as a function of income and interest rates, given by the relation
I = f(Y, r). An increase in income encourages higher investment, whereas a higher interest rate may discourage investment as it becomes more costly to borrow money. Even if a firm chooses to use its own funds in an investment, the interest rate represents an opportunity cost of investing those funds rather than loaning them out for interest.
Finance
In finance, investment is buying security (finance) or other monetary or paper (financial) assets in the
money markets or capital markets, or in fairly market liquidity real assets, such as gold, real estate, or collectibles. Valuation (finance) is the method for assessing whether a potential investment is worth its price.
Types of financial investments include shares, other
equity investment, and
bond (finance) (including bonds denominated in foreign currency). These financial assets are then expected to provide income or positive future cash flows, and may increase or decrease in value giving the investor capital gains or losses.
Trades in derivative (finance) or
derivative (finance) securities do not necessarily have future positive expected cash flows, and so are not considered assets, or strictly speaking, securities or investments. Nevertheless, since their cash flows are closely related to (or derived from) those of specific securities, they are often studied as or treated as investments.
Investments are often made indirectly through
intermediary, such as
banks, mutual funds,
pension funds,
insurance companies,
collective investment schemes, and investment clubs. Though their legal and procedural details differ, an intermediary generally makes an investment using money from many individuals, each of whom receives a claim on the intermediary.
Personal finance
Within
personal finance, money used to purchase
shares, put in a
collective investment scheme or used to buy any asset where there is an element of capital risk is deemed an
investment.
Saving within personal finance refers to money put aside, normally on a regular basis. This distinction is important, as investment risk can cause a capital loss when an investment is realized, unlike saving (money) where the more limited risk is cash devaluing due to inflation.
In many instances the terms
saving and
investment are used interchangeably, which confuses this distinction. For example many deposit accounts are labeled as
investment accounts by banks for marketing purposes. Whether an asset is a saving(s) or an investment depends on where the money is invested: if it is cash then it is savings, if its value can fluctuate then it is investment.
Real estate
In
real estate, investment is money used to purchase
property for the sole purpose of holding or leasing for income and where there is an element of capital risk. Unlike other economic or financial investment, real estate is purchased. The seller is also called a Vendor and normally the purchaser is called a Buyer.
Residential Real Estate
The most common form of real estate investment as it includes the property purchased as peoples houses. In many cases the Buyer does not have the full purchase price for a property and must engage a lender such as a Bank, Finance company or Private Lender. Different countries have their individual normal lending levels, but usually they will fall into the range of 70-90% of the purchase price. Against other types of real estate, residential real estate is the least risky.
Commercial Real Estate
Commercial real estate is the owning of a small building or large warehouse a company rents from so that it can conduct its business. Due to the higher risk of Commercial real estate, lending rates of banks and other lenders are lower and often fall in the range of 50-70%.
See also
Notes
External links
Investment or
investingBritish English and
American English, respectively. is a term with several closely-related meanings in
business management,
finance and economics, related to
Saving (money) or deferring
Consumption (economics). An asset is usually purchased, or equivalently a deposit is made in a bank, in hopes of getting a future
return (finance) or interest from it. The word originates in the Latin "vestis", meaning garment, and refers to the act of putting things (money or other claims to resources) into others' pockets.
Types of investment
The term "investment" is used differently in economics and in finance. Economists refer to a real investment (such as a machine or a house), while financial economists refer to a financial asset, such as money that is put into a bank or the market, which may then be used to buy a real asset.
Returns on investments will follow the risk-return spectrum.
Business Management
The investment decision (also known as
capital budgeting) is one of the fundamental decisions of business management: managers determine the assets that the business enterprise obtains. These assets may be physical (such as buildings or machinery), intangible (such as
patents, software, goodwill), or financial (see below). The manager must assess whether the
net present value of the investment to the enterprise is positive; the net present value is calculated using the enterprise's marginal
cost of capital.
A business might invest with the goal of making profit. These are called marketable securities or passive investment. It might also invest with the goal of
controlling or influencing the operation of the second company, the investee. These are called intercorporate, long-term and strategic investments. Hence, a company can have none, some or total control over the investee 's strategic, operating, investing and financing decisions. One can control a company by owning over 50% ownership, or have the ability to elect a majority of the Board of Directors.
Economics
In
economics, investment is the production per unit time of
Good (economics and accounting) which are not consumed but are to be used for future production. Examples include tangibles (such as building a
railroad or
factory) and intangibles (such as a year of schooling or on-the-job training). In
measures of national income and output, gross investment
I is also a component of
Gross domestic product (GDP), given in the formula
GDP = C + I + G + NX.
I is divided into non-residential investment (such as factories) and residential investment (new houses). "Net" investment deducts depreciation from gross investment. It is the value of the net increase in the capital stock per year.
Investment, as production over a period of time ("per year"), is not
capital (economics). The time dimension of investment makes it a
Stock vs. flow (economics). By contrast, capital is a
stock, that is, an accumulation measurable
at a point in time (say December 31st).
Investment is often modeled as a function of income and interest rates, given by the relation
I = f(Y, r). An increase in income encourages higher investment, whereas a higher interest rate may discourage investment as it becomes more costly to borrow money. Even if a firm chooses to use its own funds in an investment, the interest rate represents an
opportunity cost of investing those funds rather than loaning them out for interest.
Finance
In finance, investment is buying
security (finance) or other monetary or paper (financial) assets in the money markets or
capital markets, or in fairly
market liquidity real assets, such as gold, real estate, or collectibles.
Valuation (finance) is the method for assessing whether a potential investment is worth its price.
Types of financial investments include shares, other equity investment, and bond (finance) (including bonds denominated in foreign currency). These financial assets are then expected to provide income or positive future cash flows, and may increase or decrease in value giving the investor capital gains or losses.
Trades in derivative (finance) or
derivative (finance) securities do not necessarily have future positive expected cash flows, and so are not considered assets, or strictly speaking, securities or investments. Nevertheless, since their cash flows are closely related to (or derived from) those of specific securities, they are often studied as or treated as investments.
Investments are often made indirectly through intermediary, such as
banks, mutual funds, pension funds, insurance companies,
collective investment schemes, and investment clubs. Though their legal and procedural details differ, an intermediary generally makes an investment using money from many individuals, each of whom receives a claim on the intermediary.
Personal finance
Within personal finance, money used to purchase shares, put in a collective investment scheme or used to buy any asset where there is an element of capital risk is deemed an
investment.
Saving within personal finance refers to money put aside, normally on a regular basis. This distinction is important, as investment risk can cause a capital loss when an investment is realized, unlike saving (money) where the more limited risk is cash devaluing due to inflation.
In many instances the terms
saving and
investment are used interchangeably, which confuses this distinction. For example many
deposit accounts are labeled as
investment accounts by banks for marketing purposes. Whether an asset is a saving(s) or an investment depends on where the money is invested: if it is cash then it is savings, if its value can fluctuate then it is investment.
Real estate
In
real estate, investment is money used to purchase
property for the sole purpose of holding or leasing for income and where there is an element of capital risk. Unlike other economic or financial investment, real estate is purchased. The seller is also called a Vendor and normally the purchaser is called a Buyer.
Residential Real Estate
The most common form of real estate investment as it includes the property purchased as peoples houses. In many cases the Buyer does not have the full purchase price for a property and must engage a lender such as a Bank, Finance company or Private Lender. Different countries have their individual normal lending levels, but usually they will fall into the range of 70-90% of the purchase price. Against other types of real estate, residential real estate is the least risky.
Commercial Real Estate
Commercial real estate is the owning of a small building or large warehouse a company rents from so that it can conduct its business. Due to the higher risk of Commercial real estate, lending rates of banks and other lenders are lower and often fall in the range of 50-70%.
See also
Notes
External links
