By Steven Tor Beginners in investing should begin with some basic objectives and to fully understand them before putting in your first investing portfolio. The followings are some key pointers to guide beginners. A] Income generation objectives This is more concern about current income then capital appreciation overtime. Trading is an aspect to income generation where the time horizon is much shorter. B] Growth objectives Investors are concern about capital appreciation and ready to take on a longer term objective. An example will be today market situation is a good time to take on equities or funds position as extreme price bargain is available now. C] Capital Preservation objectives It is a concern on the risk involved especially when one reached near to retirement age. There is a need to diversify their portfolio into allocation of stocks, bonds and cash to minimize the risk. If one is near retirement age, he should not allocate more then 25% of his total funds on equities. D] There are various types of investment instruments. They are savings accounts, fixed deposit, Bonds, Stocks, Commodities, Mutual Funds, Derivatives like Options, Contract for Differences and Real Estate. The common factors that investors need to consider in choosing the various instruments are as follows: 1] Time horizon of the investment. 2] Risk tolerance and management. 3] Rate of return or yield. 4] Diversification to spread the risk. 5] Taxation concern. 6] The size of investment units. Some stocks can only be purchase with a minimum of 1000 shares per lot in certain countries. 7] The liquidity and marketability of the stocks concern. 8] The security of the principle sum invested and the needed income that one would expect. Keen to learn more on trading strategies and investment ideas? At http://www.getrichtrade.com we provide more information on Trading Systems for a Changing World. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steven_Tor