When you see recommendation-based questions on the exam, the prompt will often include an investment objective. An investment objective describes the investor’s overall goal for their invested capital (money). Financial professionals use investment objectives to:
You’ll want to know what each objective means in plain language and what types of investments typically match it. The objectives covered here are:
Preservation of capital means the investor wants to invest while taking as little risk as possible. This is the least risky investment objective and may involve insured products (like a certificate of deposit (CD)). Securities that fit this objective are usually short-term debt instruments with minimal risk exposure.
This objective is common for:
Specific investments suitable for a preservation of capital objective include:
Safety of principal is one step higher on the risk spectrum than preservation of capital. Investors with this objective still emphasize safe debt securities, but they’re more likely to use longer maturities.
Longer-term debt securities generally have more price volatility than short-term debt securities. In most cases, investors with this objective want stable income over long periods of time. This objective is common for older investors, especially those in retirement.
Specific investments suitable for a safety of principal objective include:
Tax-advantaged income focuses on income that’s taxed at lower rates or is tax-free. This objective is most common for investors in high tax brackets or organizations with significant tax liabilities.
This objective isn’t limited to short- or long-term investments, but recommendations often lean toward longer-term fixed-income securities to pursue higher yields.
In general, there are two primary investment products that provide tax-advantaged income:
*While dividends from stock are taxed at lower rates (15% or 20%) than interest from bonds (up to 37%), preferred stocks are especially suitable for corporate investors. Corporations are able to deduct at least 50% of the dividends they receive from taxation.
Moderate income applies when an income-seeking investor is willing to accept some risk in exchange for a higher (but still moderate) level of income.
The typical investor with this objective is older, but not in a situation where they must be completely risk-averse. For example, a 60-year-old recent retiree with a funded retirement plan may want to replace employment income using fixed-income securities that aren’t extremely conservative or highly risky.
Specific investments suitable for a moderate income objective include:
Moderate growth (also called capital appreciation or simply growth) focuses on increasing the value of the portfolio over time - typically by buying common stock and selling later at a higher price.
Because common stock involves at least a moderate level of risk, this objective fits investors who want growth but prefer to avoid the highest-risk strategies.
Younger-to-middle-age investors with long time horizons and no need for current income are most likely to have a moderate growth objective.
Specific investments suitable for a moderate growth objective include:
High-yield income means the investor is willing to take significant risk to earn higher yields from fixed-income securities.
Investors with this objective often buy junk bonds, which are rated BB or below by the rating agencies. In many cases, these issuers face a real risk of bankruptcy.
Junk bonds typically have two features that contribute to high yields:
Preferred stock - especially from distressed issuers - may also fit this objective. Like junk bonds, this type of preferred stock often offers higher dividend rates and may trade at discounts.
Investors seeking high-yield income are typically aggressive investors looking for higher returns from fixed-income securities. Elderly and conservative investors usually avoid this objective due to the risks involved.
Specific investments suitable for a high-yield income objective include:
Aggressive growth is a capital appreciation objective that accepts substantial risk in pursuit of high returns.
Growth (capital appreciation) involves buying securities at a low price and selling later at a higher value. Aggressive growth investors often focus on smaller companies with high growth potential. For example, Amazon’s IPO price in 1997 was $18 per share, and Amazon later traded above $3,000 per share (as of September 2020). That’s a return of over 16,000%. At the time, Amazon’s business model was largely unproven, but it later became one of the largest companies in the world.
The key point is that outcomes vary widely. For every Amazon, there are many companies that fail. In fact, only a third of small businesses survive their first 10 years of business. And survival doesn’t necessarily mean profitability - many start-ups take years to become profitable.
In addition to small businesses, companies from emerging markets can also offer high growth potential. Emerging markets are regions that historically weren’t major players in the global economy but are becoming more prominent. Mexico, Thailand, and South Africa are examples. As these economies grow, companies in those regions may grow as well.
Emerging market investing also brings additional risks beyond typical business and financial risk. Many regions face governmental issues (corruption, “red tape,” etc.), economic instability, and weaker infrastructure for business.
Certain sector funds can also fit an aggressive growth objective. Sector funds invest primarily in stocks of companies in a specific industry. Technology and energy are often considered more aggressive sectors because they can offer higher risk and higher return potential.
Investors with an aggressive growth objective accept that many holdings may perform poorly or even go bankrupt, while a smaller number of winners may drive overall returns. These investments tend to have high betas, meaning their market prices have historically moved more than the overall market.
This objective is only suitable for investors who are very comfortable with risk. Time horizons can be long or short, although it’s generally more prudent to use a long time horizon with risky strategies. A longer time horizon gives the investor more time to recover from losses.
These investors tend to be young and are not focused on current income. Remember, growth companies generally do not pay dividends.
Specific investments suitable for an aggressive growth objective include:
Speculation involves taking very high risk based on short-term market price movements, which are difficult to predict. In that sense, it can resemble gambling.
Speculative investors are essentially making a short-term bet on market direction. If the bet is right, gains can be large and fast. If the bet is wrong, losses can be severe - and it’s possible to lose more than the account is worth.
Speculation is the riskiest investment objective and is only suitable for the most aggressive investors. Younger investors with significant assets are the typical investors who apply this objective to their overall portfolio.
Specific investments suitable for a speculation objective include:
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