A grouping of similar types of investments which have similar financial characteristics and behave similarly in the marketplace.
There are five main classes which are:
- Equities (stocks): Owning a share of a company.
- Fixed Income (debt): Lending money to a company or government for interest.
- Cash or equivalents: Money in bank accounts, or in your pocket, foreign exchange.
- Real Estate: Owning something physical like property.
- Commodities: Natural resource commodities and precious metals like gold, platinum, silver, etc.