What Is an Investment Horizon? Investment horizon is the term used to describe the total length of time that an investor expects to hold a security or a portfolio. Basics of Investment Horizon Investment horizons can range from short-term, just a few days long, to much longer-term, potentially spanning decades. For example, a young professional
What Is Investment Advice? Investment advice is any recommendation or guidance that attempts to educate, inform, or guide an investor regarding a particular investment product or series of products. Investment advice can be professional—that is, the investor pays a fee in exchange for the qualified professional’s guidance and expertise, as seen with financial planners—or it can
What Is an Investment Adviser? An investment adviser (also known as a stock broker) is any person or group that makes investment recommendations or conducts securities analysis in return for a fee, whether through direct management of clients’ assets or by way of written publications. The precise definition of the term was established through the
What Is Investment Analysis? Investment analysis is a broad term for many different methods of evaluating investments, industry sectors, and economic trends. It can include charting past returns to predict future performance, selecting the type of investment that best suits an investor’s needs, or evaluating individual securities such as stocks and bonds to determine their
What Is an Investment Bank? An investment bank is a financial services company that acts as an intermediary in large and complex financial transactions. An investment bank is usually involved when a startup company prepares for its launch of an initial public offering (IPO) and when a corporation merges with a competitor. It also has
What Is Investment Banking? Investment banking is a type of banking that organizes large, complex financial transactions such as mergers or initial public offering (IPO) underwriting. These banks may raise money for companies in a variety of ways, including underwriting the issuance of new securities for a corporation, municipality, or other institution. They may manage
What Is an Investment Center? An investment center is a business unit in a firm that can utilize capital to contribute directly to a company’s profitability. You may compare and contrast some parallels like the terms “profit center” or “cost center.” Companies evaluate the performance of an investment center according to the revenues it brings in
What Is an Investment Club? An investment club refers to a group of people who pool their money to make investments. Usually, investment clubs are organized as partnerships—after the members study different investments, the group decides to buy or sell based on a majority vote of the members. Club meetings may be educational and each
What Is an Investment Company? An investment company is a corporation or trust engaged in the business of investing the pooled capital of investors in financial securities. This is most often done either through a closed-end fund or an open-end fund (also referred to as a mutual fund). In the U.S., most investment companies are
What Is an Investment Consultant? An investment consultant is a financial professional who provides investors with investment products, advice, and/or planning. Investment consultants do in-depth work on formulating investment strategies for clients, helping them fulfill their needs and reach their financial goals. Many financial advisors and financial planners would be considered investment consultants. Investment consultants have experience
