On Tuesday, we discussed the first ten of the twenty investments everyone should have at least a passing familiarity with. We still have another ten to go, so let’s get started.
1. Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS)
While I wouldn’t recommend buying an MBS these days, it’s still an investment worth knowing. In order to be able to afford to offer mortgages, most small banks package their mortgages and sell them through Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. As the housing industry works through the toxic mortgages it’s offered over the past couple of years, it’s best to avoid investing in an MBS or a collateralized mortgage obligation (CMO) — the cheaper version of an MBS.
2. Municipal Bonds
Municipal bonds, often called ‘munis,’ are bonds issued by states, counties, or municipalities for capital expenditures. When you purchase a municipal bond, you’re essentially offering a loan to the local government. At first glance, most municipal bonds seem to have very low returns; however, most are exempt from federal taxes and can be exempt from state and local taxes as well. When you factor in the improved tax situations, the return on municipal bonds is significantly better.
3. Mutual Funds
Members of mutual funds lump their money together and have a mutual fund manager buy stocks. The mutual fund manager is responsible for researching stocks, making sure the fund is diversified and all the details that can make investing in stocks worrisome for first time investors. Most funds have a set goal, along with strategies for risk and return. Mutual funds are particularly popular because you can easily make monthly purchases.
4. Options (Stocks)
Options are not actually securities, unlike many investments. Instead, options are the privilege to buy or sell a particular security at a set price within a certain period of time. If, for instance, you were to buy an option to buy a stock, you would hope the share price will rise significantly; you then purchase the stock and immediately resell it — or you can resell the option. Stock options are a particularly risky investment and most brokers will require you to receive approval to trade options — the added step is an attempt to limit the number of traders with no experience or knowledge.
5. Preferred Stock
Preferred stock represents your ownership in a company, just like common stock, but most preferred shares do not confer any voting rights, unlike common stock. For most preferred stock, dividends are also often different than common stocks: you would normally receive a fixed dividend indefinitely with preferred stock. Preferred stock is treated more like a combination of stocks and bond than straight stock. The main benefit of this approach is that, in the event of a company going bankrupt, its preferred stockholders will be repaid before common stockholders.
6. Real Estate and Property
For most people, purchasing a home is the largest single investment they will ever make in their lives. Of course, real estate investments can go far beyond houses: commercial properties, undeveloped land, condos and other opportunities are all included in this category. While real estate has developed something of a bad reputation lately, it can still be a very worthwhile investment. However, it is important to remember that real estate can be one of the more expensive investments to hold, between maintenance, property taxes and related expenses.
7. Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)
If you’re interested in investing in real estate, but feel like it’s too expensive, you can still invest in REITs. These investments are traded like stocks on most major stock exchanges — they are directly invested in properties or mortgages. Compared to traditional real estate investments, REITs are far more liquid, have better tax advantages and have high yields. REITs are usually less volatile than the rest of the stock market, although lately they’ve been riskier than usual.
8. Treasury Securities
Treasury securities actually include a number of different investments, including treasury bills (short-term investments), treasury notes (medium-term) and treasury bonds (long-term). All treasury securities are considered low risk; they are loans made to the national government which is assumed to be unlikely to default. Because of the risk factor, the return on treasury securities is fairly low.
9. Unit Trust (UIT)
UITs are fairly similar to mutual funds in that they hold a portfolio of investments. However, they differ dramatically in the portfolios they each hold: UITs may own common stock, but rely on income-producing securities like municipal bonds, government bonds and corporate bonds. UITs are not actively managed like other investment portfolios might be: because they hold income-producing securities, they allow these investments to mature and pay out. UITs are mostly low-risk investments, although those that hold stocks can be less certainty of a good return.
10. Zero-Coupon Securities
While most bonds pay a return (known as a ‘coupon’) beyond their face value, banks or brokers also offer zero-coupon securities. Essentially, zero-coupon securities are bonds that have had their coupons stripped off: the broker removes the coupons and trades the remaining bond as a zero-coupon security. The benefit of investing in these securities is that you will pay less than face value — significantly less if the bond won’t mature for quite a while. For instance, you might pay $800 today for a $1,000 security that will mature in five years, when you will receive the full face value. Zero-coupon securities have little risk, but they do have a few tax disadvantages.
Thursday Bram is a freelance journalist of over five years experience. She studied Communications at the University of Tulsa and is currently working on her MA in Communication Design. Her work has focused primarily on entrepreneurial topics. More information about Thursday is available at thursdaybram.com.
译文:
你应该了解的另外十种投资
星期二，我们讨论了20种投资当中的前十种，这是每个人都应该有所了解。今天我们还有另外的十种投资，那么我们开始吧。
1. 抵押支持债券
虽然我并不提倡购买抵押支持债券，但是它仍然是一种值得了解的投资。为了能提供抵押债券，许多小银行通过联邦住宅贷款抵押公司和联邦抵押协会包装并出售抵押贷款。由于房地产是通过大量的抵押贷款来运行的，这样的情况在过去今年都屡见不鲜，因此我们最好要避免投资抵押支付债券或是抵押贷款义务——抵押债务的一种廉价版本。
2. 市政债券
市政债券，通常为“市政”，是由州、县、或是市政府用于资本支出的债券。当您购买市政债券，你就基本上是提供贷款给当地政府。乍看之下，大部分市政府债券的回报几乎是非常低的，但是大多数债券都面交联邦税，还可免交州税和地方税。
3. 共同基金
共同基金的成员将钱攒一起，并有一个基金经理购买股票。共同基金经理是负责研究储备，确保基金是多样化的以及可以使投资股票令人担忧的首次投资所有的细节。大多数基金有个拟定的目标，同时还有战略以防风险和回报。互助基金特别受欢迎，应为你每个月都可以轻松购买。
4. 股权（股票)
股票并非真正的证券，和其他许多投资不同。相反，股票是在一定期限内的时间，并在一个固定的价格下可以自由买进或卖出证券。举个例子来说，如果你买一个股权来购买股票，你会希望股票价格大幅上涨。然后你购买股票，并立即转售它——或者你转售股权。股票券是一种非常危险的投资，许多经纪人要求你获得贸易股权批准——下一步就是努力限制那些没有经验或相关知识的商人。
5. 优先股
优先股代表你在一家公司里的所有权，就像普通股一样，但大多数优先股不授予任何投票权，不像普通股股票。对于大多数优先股来说，股息也是不同于普通股的：你通常可能因优先股得到无期限的固定股息。优先股更像是股票和债券的结合，而不仅仅是股票而已。这种做法的主要利益是：如果一家公司破产了，其优先股东将比普通股东先得到偿还。
6. 房地产及物业
对大多数人来说，购买房子将是他们一生中最大的一笔投资。当然，房地产投资远远超过房屋投资：商业物业、未开发土地、公寓还有别的商业机遇都属于这一类。虽然房地产最近产生某些坏的名声，但它仍然是一种非常有价值的投资。但有一点需要铭记，房地产投资将会是其中一种更贵的投资之一，其中包括维修、房产税和相关费用。
7. Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT)房地产投资信托基金
如果你对投资房地产有兴趣，但又觉得太贵，你可以买房地产投资信贷基金。这些投资在许多股票交易中类似于股票——它们直接投资于物业或者抵押。与传统的房地产投资相比，房地产投资信托基金有更大的流动性、更具优势的税收和更高的成效。虽然最近房地产投资信托基金比往常存在更多风险了，但是相对股市的其他投资来说，它的波动幅度要小。
8.财政证券
财政证券实际上包括不同的投资：国库券（短期投资）、国债（中期投资）和国库基金（长期投资）。所有的财政证券都是低风险的；它们是放给国家政府的贷款，所以一般都不会有很大的风险。正由于其风险低，所以收益也是相应低的。
9. 单位投资信托
单位投资信托大概类似于共同基金，因为它们持有投资组合。然而，它们有明显不同的投资组合：单位投资信托持有普通股，但是依靠创收证券，比如市政债券、政府债券和企业债券。单位投资信托并不像其他的投资组合：因为它们持有创收证券，它们允许这些投资组合达到成熟再售出。单位投资信贷是风险最低的一种投资，虽然它们持有的股票所得到的收益是相对少的。
10. 零息债券
虽然大多数债券支付回报（称为'优惠' ）超出其面值，银行或经纪人还提供零息证券。从本质上来讲，零息债券是那种已没有息的券了。经纪人删除券及交易，其余的债券就是零息债券。投资这些债券的益处是，你将支付低于票面价值——大大的低于，如果这债券在一段时间没有成熟。例如，您今天可能支付800美元购买1000美元的债券，它将在未来五年成熟，到时你将得到充分的面值。零息债券没有什么风险，但他们确实有少数税务缺点。
Thursday Bram是个具有5年以上经验的自由撰稿者。她在塔尔萨大学学习通信，目前她正在努力获得通信设计硕士学位。她的作品主要侧重于创业的主题，更多关于请上此网thursdaybram.com.