Types of investments

Portfolio

All the investments a person or a fund owns, taken together.

Why does it matter?

Looking at the whole portfolio, not just one investment, shows how much risk is really being taken.

How do I read it?

A portfolio can mix shares, funds, bonds and cash. How it is split between them, and among different companies, says more about its risk than any single holding.

Example

A $10,000 portfolio might hold $6,000 in shares of several companies, $3,000 in fixed income and $1,000 in cash. If the shares fall 20%, the whole portfolio falls about 12%.