A man of little experience and superficial knowledge may answer readily enough, but the answer will come slowly from a man of conservative judgment. The desirability of any investment consists of three attributes:

(1) Safety, (2) Profit, (3) Permanency. All three, however, are relative terms. In investments there is no such thing as absolute safety, assured profit, or unchangeable conditions. United States bonds are today the highest-class investments in the world; yet men are still living who saw them go to a discount of 78 cents on the dollar. Within the last decade their profitableness has been reduced by half, and unless we have another war the indications are that they will all be paid off within our own day. All we can do, therefore, is to consider the relative safety, profitableness, and permanency of the different classes of investment. There are investments which are more safe than profitable; others which are profitable, but not safe; and many which are neither safe nor profitable, but are certainly permanent.

We shall now consider the different kinds of investments offered in the United States, grouped as far as possible under four divisions: