A bond is an investment that pays a fixed income. Basically, you lend money to a company and, in return, they pay you back a fixed amount until the maturity date, which is the date when the money you originally invested is paid back to you. 

Government bonds and corporate bonds are the most common types of fixed income products. The government or company will pay you interest for the life of the loan, with rates depending on inflation and the perceived risk of the loan (e.g. that the company you invested in won't pay back the loan).

Trading stocks involves buying and selling shares in publicly-traded companies. When someone buys shares of a company, they effectively become a small part-owner of that company and have some claim on its assets and earnings, in the form of dividends and/or capital appreciation. The other way to make money from stocks is that you sell the shares at a higher price than you paid for them. 

But the market can change. Share prices have been known to go up and down and some companies can even go bankrupt - so you could even lose your investment.

A mutual fund pools money from different investors in one large pot. The fund manager takes advantage of the larger amount of money in this pool he is able to invest and distributes the money in different types of assets including stocks, bonds, commodities, and/or real estate. This is in line with the concept of diversification, as mentioned earlier in this module.

ETFs, which are a subset of funds, will track a particular index, sector, commodity, or other assets. But unlike mutual funds, ETFs can be purchased or sold on a stock exchange the same way that a regular stock can since they only copy an already existing fund.

Real estate is considered to be its own asset class. One of the key ways investors can make money in real estate is to become a landlord. A couple of the big barriers here are the comparatively high amount you need to start your investment, as well as the liquidity of your money while being tied down for a long period of time. But if you have the means to invest in real estate, it might be a great way to secure your future long-term.

When building your investment strategy you should also be aware of the investing costs (e.g. expense ratios, market costs, custodian fees, advisory fees, commissions …). These costs vary across the market and it’s important to research those costs in advance, so that you minimize investment costs and maximize your gains.