Commerce Term 3
Commerce Term 3
Investing: investing is the process of buying assets that increase in value over time and
provide returns in the form of income payments or capital gains
How: individuals buy an asset at a low price and sell it at a higher price. When the individual
makes a product it is called capital gain
Reward: refers to the financial return an investor receives from investing ie capital gains or
dividends
Types of investments
Savings
General savings account: a savings account is an account at a bank that is designed for
consumers to deposit money and earn interest
Term deposit: are a type of savings account that lets you invest funds for a specific term at
a fixed interest rate. Interest is calculated daily and paid at maturity (for terms up to 12
months), or monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually (for terms over 12 months)
Property
Investment property: is real estate that’s brought with the aim of earning financial returns
such as rental yield of capital gains. The main goal of an investment property is usually to
grow wealth and generate a passive income
Shares
Shares: a share represents a unit of ownership in a company
Types of shares:
● Public listed company: purchasing shares from the ASX
● Private listed companies: investing funds in exchange for equity from a company,
usually this is a significant ownership ie >10%
Eg restaurant, cafe, tech company etc
Debenture: a long term loan issued by a company to raise money. Thus the loan is paid
back over a long period of time at a fixed rate of interest. They include the amount lent, the
interest the company will pay and the period of time as well as security that will guarantee
the business investment even of the company defaults
Unsecured notes: similar to debentures except they are not secured of business’ assets
and therefore are a higher risk
● Higher risk & higher return
○ Growth asset: the investments are volatile as the prices fluctuate in the short
term as they are higher risk
Cryptocurrency
Managed funds
A managed fund is a type of investment where your money is pooled together with other
investors. A fund manager then buoys and sells assets, such as cash, shares, bonds and
listed property trusts, on your behalf
Borrowing to invest
When taking out a loan for investment purposes an individual or business must consider
their repayment ability and the type of loan ie. fixed or variable interest
Fixed interest rate: remains the same for the period of the loan
● Greater control of repayment amounts
● Cannot be paid before the set date without incurring a fee
Ethical investments
Ethical investments: investing in companies whose products, policies and practices are in
line with an individual’s beliefs and values eg
● Sustainable business practices
● Pay above the minimum wage in countries where the minimum wage is below the
poverty line
● Do not engage in child labour where child labour is legalised
Screening
● Positive screening: investing in firms that involved in activities which are deemed
desirable ie renewable energy, healthcare
● Negative screening: avoid investing in some types of firms deemed
undesirable/unethical eg cigarette companies
Short term
- Short-term investments are less than three years
Medium term
- Medium term investments are between 3-7 years
Long term
- Long-term investments are held for over seven years
Generally the longer the period of investment the higher the rate of return
It is important to continually monitor and evaluate your investments. Most people do this by
regularly checking their investment records.