is putting money into something with the hope of profit. More specifically, investment is the commitment of money or capital to the purchase of financial instruments or other assets so as to gain profitable returns in the form of interest, income (dividends), or appreciation (capital gains) of the value of the instrument.

In finance, investment is the commitment of funds by buying securities or other monetary or paper (financial) assets in the money markets or capital markets, or in fairly liquid real assets, such as gold or collectibles. In real estate, investment money is used to purchase property for the purpose of holding, reselling or leasing for income and there is an element of capital risk. Investment comes with the risk of the loss of the principal sum.

How and Where to Do Investments