A mutual fund is group of stocks, bonds, and/or other investments—but instead of creating the group yourself, a professional has created it for you. Stocks are what many people think of when they think of investing. Deciding what individual stocks to buy (and which to sell, when) is one of the most labor-intensive ways to invest.

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This approach to building your portfolio allows you to view your investments through the context of what you’re trying to achieve, which can be a good motivator to keep going. Your first step is to select the right type of account for the goal you’re looking to accomplish. Long-term investing, on the other end of the spectrum, comes with the upside of allowing more time for compounding interest and more margin for error when the market experiences volatility. One of the drawbacks of long-term investing is that it can become more difficult to catch up with your goals if you’ve delayed your investing efforts. A common question that arises is whether you should invest your money all at once—or in equal amounts over time, more commonly known as dollar cost averaging (DCA). How much you put into each account will be determined by your investment goal outlined in the first step—as well as the amount of time you have until you plan to reach that goal. There may also be limits on how much you can invest in certain accounts.

Even in these instances, your funds are typically still safe, but losing temporary access to your money is still a legitimate concern. The S&P 500 is an index consisting of about 500 of the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S.

Other examples are preferred shares, funds that hold stocks, such as exchange-traded funds and mutual funds, private equity and American depositary receipts. In today’s economic environment, it’s unlikely that savings alone will be sufficient to support your financial goals.

You’ll have to do your homework to determine your investment goals, risk tolerance, and the costs of investing in stocks and mutual funds. You’ll also need to research brokers and their fees to find the one that best fits your investment style and goals.

One advantage of robo-advisors is that this rebalancing process is done for you automatically. “Decide what type of account [you] should invest in, whether it should be a brokerage account, IRA, or Roth IRA. There are limitations on how much you can put in an IRA or Roth IRA in a given tax year, so you may need to open more than one type of account,” says Niestradt. With the right account or buckets you can then begin selecting your investments.

NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments. As the prices of virtually every asset class fell last year, one silver lining appeared to be that the resulting rise in yields would improve these prospects. This is true for the swathe of government bonds where real yields moved from negative to positive. It is also true for investors in corporate bonds and other forms of debt, subject to the caveat that rising borrowing costs raise the risk of companies defaulting.

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She has worked in multiple cities covering breaking news, politics, education, and more. Her expertise is in personal finance and investing, and real estate. Investing money may seem intimidating, especially if you’ve never done it before. On the other hand, a high-yield bond can produce greater income but will come with a greater risk of default.

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Buying and selling is another way to say that you are trading. “Buying” refers to the investments you hope to trade into your account; “selling” refers to investments you hope to trade out of your account. It’s easy to link your bank account(s) to your Fidelity account(s)—then you can transfer money anytime or set up automatic deposits. Some people want a quick score in the stock market without experiencing any downside, but the market just doesn’t work like that. The logistics of a 401(k) can be confusing, especially for recent grads or those who have never contributed.

The more aggressive portfolios include larger allocation of all types of stocks (large-cap stocks, small-cap stocks, and international stocks). Planning and research are great, but in the end, you also have to pull the trigger. Investing a little bit every month and gradually increasing that amount over time, as you get more comfortable, is a fine way to go.

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How investing works is you put your money in an account or fund with the goal of making a profit. Investing comes with the potential of greater rewards (which can include more risk) over time. That’s why some people use investments to reach long-term goals such as retirement. 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.

Bankrate follows a strict editorial policy, so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Learn how to get compounding interest working for your portfolio. There’s also the user-friendliness and functionality of the broker’s trading platform to consider. I’ve used quite a few of them and can tell you firsthand that some are far more clunky than others. Many will let you try a demo version before committing any money, and if that’s the case, I highly recommend it. Gordon Scott has been an active investor and technical analyst or 20+ years. Residents, Charles Schwab Hong Kong clients, Charles Schwab U.K.

Risk and return go hand-in-hand in investing; low risk generally means low expected returns, while higher returns are usually accompanied by higher risk. At the low-risk end of the spectrum are basic investments such as Certificates of Deposit (CDs); bonds or fixed-income instruments are higher up on the risk scale, while stocks or equities are regarded as riskier. Commodities and derivatives are generally considered to be among the riskiest investments. One can also invest in something practical, such as land or real estate, or delicate items, such as fine art and antiques.

Companies issue corporate bonds, whereas local governments issue municipal bonds. The U.S. Treasury issues Treasury bonds, notes and bills, all of which are debt instruments that investors buy. As a global investment manager and fiduciary to our clients, our purpose at BlackRock is to help everyone experience financial well-being. Since 1999, we’ve been a leading provider of financial technology, and our clients turn to us for the solutions they need when planning for their most important goals. The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. Making money doesn’t have to be complicated if you make a plan and stick to it.

DIY investing is sometimes called self-directed investing, and requires a fair amount of education, skill, time commitment, and the ability to control one’s emotions. If these attributes do not describe you well, it may be smarter to let a professional help manage your investments. Risk and return expectations can vary widely within the same asset class. For example, a blue chip that trades on the New York Stock Exchange will have a very different risk-return profile from a micro-cap that trades on a small exchange. Investing differs from saving in that the money used is put to work, meaning that there is some implicit risk that the related project(s) may fail, resulting in a loss of money. Investing also differs from speculation in that with the latter, the money is not put to work per-se, but is betting on the short-term price fluctuations. Risk capacity is your ability to take on risk without jeopardizing your financial goals.

How do I build an investment strategy?

Your money has no guarantee against loss and there are no tax advantages, but there may be more flexibility for withdrawal than a retirement investment account. A mutual fund is a collection of investments, typically stocks or bonds but sometimes both, that is owned by many different investors. You buy shares in the fund, which is often diversified among many investments, reducing your risk and potentially even increasing your returns. A mutual fund is a great way for inexperienced investors to earn significant returns in the market. In addition to buying individual stocks, you can choose to invest in index funds, which track a stock index like the S&P 500. When it comes to actively vs. passively managed funds, we generally prefer the latter (although there are certainly exceptions). Index funds typically have significantly lower costs and are virtually guaranteed to match the long-term performance of their underlying indexes.

When you invest in a fund, you also own small pieces of each of those companies. You can put several funds together to build a diversified portfolio. Note that stock mutual funds are also sometimes called equity mutual funds.

By mixing different types of investments, you can help lower your overall portfolio risk since different types of assets usually perform differently at any one time. It doesn’t mean you can’t lose money—it just means you may not lose as much. Working with an adviser may come with potential downsides such as payment of fees (which will reduce returns).