Investing is an act of buying or creating an asset with a hope of it appreciating in value in order to be either sold at a later date for a profit or to provide a continuous generation of profit. While investment can be anything, from investing time into an activity or education, to investing resources to accomplish something, the most widely understood definition is that of finance: investing money to make money.
Within the global economic system, investing is understood as the best way to create wealth and often erroneously associated with quick money and big returns. Businesses such as Foreign Exchange Market, where money is made by simultaneously buying one currency and selling another in the hope of making profit when the exchange rate changes, are not actually an investment as no long term investment (three years, five years or more) is possible. Instead, investments such as in an assets (buildings, property, gold and other precious metals, vehicles, machinery…etc) or stocks, bonds and shares among many others, can be considered a long term investment capable of generating or making a wealthy return.
Each of the investment methods carry a degree of risk, from a very low risk government bonds to high risk international stocks and bonds. The higher the risk, the higher the return, but equally the higher the loss.
In the world of investment, there is no such thing as certainty, and thus no sure returns on any investment. Investors may lose, most, all or even more capital than they invested, which can cause a person or an institution to become bankrupt. A good indication, for example, of a financial fraud or a pyramid scheme, would a promise of high, too-good-to-be-true returns. Within the economic system, there exists no quick nor sure way to become wealthy.
The most successful investor of our time is Warren Buffet, who has spent his entire life in pursuing wealth through investment. Buffet is a billionaire, but he only attained this status in his 60s, after 50 years of investment and wealth building. In 2013, Warrant Buffet was making on average $1.5 million per hour.
Investing in future and in something that will generate or bring wealth is on the minds of majority of people. However, investment is a sharp double edged sword - if not handled properly, it can cut investor's entire capital just as quickly as it can make it.