11 Common Types of Investments and How They Work

Investing can be intimidating; with so many options available, from stocks and bonds to annuities and mutual funds, which ones are right for your investment portfolio? First, familiarize yourself with the most common types of investments, then consider how they fit your portfolio. If you’re serious about investing, it might be a good idea to find

A financial advisor can help you figure out which investments work best for your budget and long-term goals.

What Are the Main Investment Categories?

While there are many types of investments, each type fits into one of three categories: equity, fixed-income, and cash or cash equivalents.

The term “equity” covers any kind of investment that gives the investor an ownership stake in an enterprise. The most common example is common stocks. Other examples include preferred shares, funds that hold stocks (such as exchange-traded funds and mutual funds), private equity, and American depositary receipts.

The term fixed-income covers any kind of investment that entails the investor essentially loaning money to an enterprise. The most common example is bonds, which come in various forms, including corporate and government, whether local, state or federal. Some fixed-income securities have equity-like characteristics, such as convertible bonds.

Cash and cash equivalents, like checking accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and money market accounts, are the third category of investment. Investors often consider money market funds as cash equivalents because of easy withdrawals, but they are technically fixed-income securities.

11 Types of Investments

Investing offers a pathway to grow wealth and achieve financial goals, but navigating the diverse landscape of investment options requires informed decisions that align with your financial objectives, risk tolerance, and time horizon. Here are 11 common types of investments:

1. Stocks

Stocks, also known as shares or equities, might be the most well-known and simple type of investment. When you buy stock, you’re buying an ownership stake in a publicly traded company. This includes the biggest companies in the U.S., such as Exxon, Apple, and Microsoft.

How you can make money: When you buy a stock, you’re hoping that the price will go up so you can then sell it for a profit. The risk, of course, is losing money  if the stock price goes down.

2. Bonds

When you buy a bond you’re essentially lending money, generally to a business or government, for a set period of time. Companies issue corporate bonds, whereas local governments issue municipal bonds. The U.S. Treasury issues Treasury bonds, notes, and bills.

How you can make money: While the money is being lent, the lender or investor gets interest payments. After the bond matures, meaning you’ve held it for the contractually determined amount of time, you get your principal back.

The rate of return for bonds is typically much lower than stocks, but bonds present lower risk. There’s still some risk involved, of course. The company you buy a bond from could fold or the government could default. This rarely happens however, so investors typically consider treasury bonds, notes, and bills as very safe investments.

3. Mutual Funds

A mutual fund pools investors’ money and invests it across a range of companies. Mutual funds can be actively managed or passively managed. An actively managed fund has a fund manager who picks securities on behalf of investors. Because of this responsibility, fund managers often try to choose investments that will outperform a designated market index.

A passively managed fund, also known as an index fund, simply tracks a major stock market index like the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the S&P 500. Mutual funds can invest in a broad array of securities: equities, bonds, commodities, currencies, and derivatives. Depending on the investments, mutual funds can carry many of the same risks as stocks and bonds. The risk is often lesser, though, because the investments are inherently diversified.

How you can make money: Investors make money off mutual funds when the value of stocks, bonds and other bundled securities that the fund invests in go up. You can buy them directly through the managing firm and discount brokerages. But note there is typically a minimum investment and you’ll pay an annual fee.

4. Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are similar to mutual funds in that they are a collection of investments that track a market index. Unlike mutual funds, which operate through a fund company, investors buy and sell shares of ETFs on the stock markets. Their price fluctuates throughout the trading day, whereas mutual funds’ value is calculated at the end of each trading session using the net asset value of your investments.

How you can make money: ETFs make money from the collection of returns among all of their investments. ETFs attract new investors because they’re more diversified than individual stocks. You can further minimize risk by choosing an ETF that tracks a broad index. And just like mutual funds, you can make money from an ETF by selling it as it gains value.

5. Certificates of Deposit (CDs)

investors consider a certificate of deposit (CD) a very low-risk investment. It’s a time bound deposit that earns interest until it reaches its maturity date. After that, you get your principal back plus any earned interest. The longer the loan period, the higher your interest rate is likely to be, but this is a low-risk low-reward type of investment that earns less than most of the others on this list.

How you can make money: With a CD, you make money from the interest that you earn during the term of the deposit. CDs are good long-term investments for saving money. CDs qualify for FDIC insurance up to $250,000, which would cover your money even if your bank were to collapse. That said, you have to make sure you won’t need the money during the term of the CD, as there are major penalties for early withdrawals.

6. Retirement Plans

A retirement plan is an investment account with certain tax benefits, where investors invest their money for retirement. There are several types of retirement plans, such as workplace retirement plans, sponsored by your employer, including 401(k) plans and 403(b) plans. If you don’t have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, you could get an individual retirement plan (IRA) or a Roth IRA.

How you can make money: Retirement plans aren’t a separate category of investment, per se, but a vehicle to buy stocks, bonds and funds in two tax-advantaged ways. The first lets you invest pretax dollars (as with a traditional IRA). The second allows you to withdraw money without paying taxes on that money. The risks for the investments are the same as if you were buying the investments outside of a retirement plan.

7. Options

An option is a somewhat more advanced or complex way to buy a stock. When you buy an option, you’re purchasing the ability to buy or sell an asset at a certain price at a given time. There are two types of options: call options for buying assets and put options for selling assets.

How you can make money: As an investor, you lock in the price of a stock with the hope that it will go up in value. However, the stock could also lose money. So if the stock decreases from its initial price, you lose the money from the contract. Options are an advanced investing technique and retail investors should exercise caution before using them.

8. Annuities

When you buy an annuity, you purchase an insurance policy and, in return, you get periodic payments. You must purchase the annuity years in advance in order to receive these payments. This is why many people use annuities as part of their retirement savings plan.

Annuities come in numerous varieties. They may last until death or only for a predetermined period and may require periodic premium payments or just one up-front payment. They may link partially to the stock market or they may simply be an insurance policy with no direct link to the markets. Payments may be immediate or deferred to a specified date. They may be fixed or variable.

How you can make money: Annuities can guarantee an additional stream of income for retirement. But while they are fairly low risk, they aren’t high-growth. So investors tend to make them a good supplement for their retirement savings, rather than an integral source of funding.

9. Derivatives

A derivative is a financial instrument that derives its value from another asset. Similar to an annuity, it’s a contract between two parties. In this case, though, the contract is an agreement to sell an asset at a specific price in the future. If the investor agrees to purchase the derivative, then they’re betting that the value won’t decrease. Derivatives are considered to be a more advanced investment and are typically purchased by institutional investors.

The three most common types of derivatives are:

• Options Contracts: The options contract gives the investor the opportunity to buy or sell an asset at a specific price at a specific time in the future. Call options provide you the opportunity to buy the asset at that price and put options allow you to sell that asset.
• Futures Contracts: Futures contracts commit to a sale at a specified time and date.
• Swaps: This is an agreement between two parties to exchange cash flows in the future.

How you can make money: You can make money investing in derivatives if you’re on the right side of price fluctuations. For example, if you agree to buy copper at $1,000 in nine months, but the market price at that time is $2,000, then you’ve essentially doubled your investment.

10. Commodities

Commodities are physical products that you can invest in. They are common in futures markets where producers and commercial buyers – in other words, professionals – seek to hedge their financial stake in the commodities.

Retail investors should make sure they thoroughly understand futures before investing in them. The price of a commodity can move sharply and abruptly in either direction due to sudden events. For instance, political actions can greatly change the value of something like oil, while the weather can impact the value of agricultural products.

Here’s a breakdown of the four main types of commodities:

• Metals: precious metals (gold and silver) and industrial metals (copper)
• Agricultural: Wheat, corn and soybeans
• Livestock: Pork bellies and feeder cattle
• Energy: Crude oil, petroleum products and natural gas

One of the primary ways that investors make money with commodities is by trading commodity futures. Investors sometimes buy commodities as a hedge for their portfolios during inflation. You can buy commodities indirectly through stocks and mutual funds or ETFs and futures contracts.

11. Hybrid Investments

Hybrid investments incorporate elements of equities and fixed-income securities. One such example is preferred shares, which is an equity security with a bond-like feature. Preferred stock generally comes with a fixed dividend rate. Preferred shareholders receive dividend payments before common shareholders do. And preferred stockholders will have access to the company’s assets before common stockholders in the event of liquidation. In this scenario, owners of preferred stock are behind bondholders in line for company assets, but they’re ahead of owners of common stock.

Another type of hybrid is a convertible bond. It’s a corporate bond that can be “converted” into shares of the company. A bond is a loan to a company, whereas a share is a “share” of ownership. When you convert from a bond to a share, you go from being a lender to the company to a part-owner of the company.

Tax Considerations for Different Investment Types

Having an idea of how your investments are taxed is essential to maximizing your returns. While many new investors focus on performance, the tax treatment of different asset types can significantly affect your bottom line.

Capital gains taxes apply when you sell an asset like ETFs, stocks or mutual funds for more than you paid. If you’ve held the asset for more than a year, it’s taxed at the lower long-term capital gains rate. If held for less than a year, it’s taxed as ordinary income, which can be a higher rate depending on your tax bracket.

Interest income—from sources like bonds, certificates of deposit (CDs), and money market accounts—is generally taxed at your ordinary income rate. Because of this, interest-earning investments may be less tax-efficient in taxable accounts.

Dividends can be either qualified or nonqualified. Qualified dividends, typically paid by U.S. companies on stocks held for a certain period, are taxed at the favorable capital gains rate. Nonqualified dividends are taxed as ordinary income.

Annuities are tax-deferred, meaning you won’t pay taxes on earnings until you withdraw the funds. However, when you do withdraw, the earnings are taxed as ordinary income—not capital gains.

Investing through tax-advantaged accounts like IRAs, 401(k)s or Roth accounts can help reduce your tax burden. Traditional IRAs and 401(k)s allow for tax-deferred growth, while Roth accounts grow tax-free and allow tax-free withdrawals in retirement.

Factoring in taxes can help you choose the right account and investment mix to keep more of your earnings in the long run.

How to Buy Different Types of Investments

When looking to grow your wealth, knowing how to buy different types of investments is essential for building a diversified portfolio. The investment landscape offers numerous options, each with unique characteristics, risk profiles, and potential returns. Before making any purchases, take time to research and understand what each investment type entails and how it aligns with your financial goals.

There are two main ways for you to purchase the different types of investments you may be interested in buying, though either way will require you to have an active investment account. Each is easy to do, but only one of the two provides a service that’s completely done for you. The two general ways to buy the types of investments you want are:

1. Start an Online Brokerage Account: You can elect to manage your own investments and just open a brokerage account. This enables you to get up and running quickly with the ability to buy stock, bonds, mutual funds and more in a matter of minutes. The only downside is that you’ll be making the final financial decisions all on your own.
2. Hire a Financial Advisor: The other way to buy multiple types of investments is to work with a financial advisor. The advisor can not only provide you with access to buy and trade assets, but they can also help you figure out an overall financial strategy and prepare you adequately for retirement. This is more of an automated process in that you just have to approve trades or investments and the advisor takes care of the details. Your advisor can help you get a brokerage account, as needed.

Building a Diversified Portfolio With Multiple Investment Types

Diversification means spreading your money across different types of investments so that a loss in one area does not wipe out your entire portfolio. The goal is to hold investments that do not all move in the same direction at the same time.

A basic diversified portfolio typically combines stocks, bonds, and cash or cash equivalents. Stocks offer growth potential but come with more volatility. Bonds provide more stability and income but generally lower returns. Cash equivalents like money market accounts or CDs offer safety and liquidity but little growth. Holding all three gives your portfolio a balance of growth, income, and stability.

Beyond that basic mix, diversification can go further. Within stocks, for example, you can spread exposure across different sectors, company sizes, and geographic regions. Within bonds, you can hold a mix of government and corporate bonds with different maturity dates. Adding alternative investments like commodities or real estate can provide additional diversification because their returns tend to move independently of stocks and bonds.

Tips For Building a Diverse Portfolio

• Asset allocation matters more than individual picks. How you divide your money among stocks, bonds, and other asset classes will have a greater impact on your long-term returns than which specific securities you choose.
• Diversification does not eliminate risk. It reduces the impact of any single investment performing poorly, but all investments carry some level of risk.
• Rebalancing keeps your allocation on track. Over time, some investments will grow faster than others, shifting your allocation away from your original target. Reviewing and rebalancing your portfolio periodically can help you stay aligned with your goals.
• Low-cost index funds and ETFs can simplify diversification. A single broad-market index fund can give you exposure to hundreds of companies at once, making diversification accessible even with a small amount to invest.

How to Choose the Right Investment Types for Your Goals

The right mix of investments depends on three factors: your goal, your timeline, and how much risk you are willing to accept:

• If your goal is long-term growth, such as retirement in 20 or 30 years, stocks and stock-based funds are generally the most effective way to build wealth over time. With a long timeline, you have more room to ride out market downturns. A portfolio weighted toward broad-market index funds or ETFs, with a smaller allocation to bonds for stability, is a common starting point for long-term investors.
• If your goal is medium-term, such as saving for a home or college in five to 10 years, a more balanced approach makes sense. You still want some growth, but you have less time to recover from a significant market drop. A mix of stocks, bonds, and some cash equivalents can help balance growth with capital preservation.
• If your goal is short-term, such as building an emergency fund or saving for a purchase within one to three years, capital preservation matters most. High-yield savings accounts, money market accounts, and short-term CDs are better suited for money you may need soon. The lower returns are a reasonable tradeoff for the stability and liquidity these options provide.
• If your goal is retirement income, the focus shifts from growing assets to generating reliable income while managing the risk of outliving your savings. Bonds, dividend-paying stocks, and annuities can all play a role here. Annuities in particular can provide a guaranteed income stream, though they come with fees and complexity worth evaluating carefully.

Bottom Line

There are a lot of different types of investments to choose from. Some are perfect for beginners, while others require more experience and research. Each type of investment offers a different level of risk and reward, giving you a good option or two no matter what your goal might be. Investors should consider each type of investment before determining an asset allocation that aligns with their overall financial goals.

Investing Tips

• It can sometimes help to have an expert in your corner when investing. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
• If your investments pay off, you may owe the capital gains tax. Figure out how much you’ll pay when you sell your stocks with our capital gains tax calculator.

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