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In finance, investment is the commitment of funds through collateralized lending, or making a deposit into a secured institution.
In contrast to investment; dollar cost averaging, market timing, and diversification are phrases associated with speculation.
Investments are often made indirectly through intermediaries, such as banks, credit unions, brokers, lenders, and insurance companies. Though their legal and procedural details differ, an intermediary generally makes an investment using money from many individuals, each of whom receives a claim on the intermediary.
The Code of Hammurabi 1700 B.C. provided a legal framework for investment establishing a means for the pledge of collateral by codifying debtor and creditor rights in regard to pledged land. Punishments for breaking financial obligations were not as severe as those for crimes involving injury or death.
In the early 1900s purchasers of stocks, bonds, and other securities were described in media, academia, and commerce as speculators. By the 1950s the term investment had been co-opted by financial brokers and their advertising agencies to promote speculation.
Common usage of "investment" to describe "speculation" has reduced investor capacity to discern investment from speculation, reduced investor awareness of risk associated with speculation, increased capital available to speculation, and decreased capital available to investment.
In real estate, investment money is used to purchase property for the purpose of holding, reselling or leasing for income and there is an element of capital risk.
Investment in residential real estate is the most common form of real estate investment measured by number of participants because it includes property purchased as a primary residence. In many cases the buyer does not have the full purchase price for a property and must engage a lender such as a bank, finance company or private lender. Different countries have their individual normal lending levels, but usually they will fall into the range of 70–90% of the purchase price. Against other types of real estate, residential real estate is the least risky.[citation needed]
Commercial real estate consists of multifamily apartments, office buildings, retail space, hotels and motels, warehouses, and other commercial properties. Due to the higher risk of commercial real estate, loan-to-value ratios allowed by banks and other lenders are lower and often fall in the range of 50–70%.[citation needed]