The term has taken on a specific meaning in finance to describe the particular types of people and companies that regularly purchase equity or debt securities for financial gain in exchange for funding an expanding company. Less frequently, the term is applied to parties who purchase real estate, currency, commodity derivatives, personal property, or other assets.

The term implies that a party purchases and holds assets in hopes of achieving capital gain, not as a profession or for short-term income.

Types of investors

Here is an overlapping, non-exclusive list of investor types

Individual investors (including trusts on behalf of individuals, and umbrella companies formed for two or more to pool investment funds)
Collectors of art, antiques, and other things of value
Angel investors, either individually or in groups
Venture capital funds, which serve as investment collectives on behalf of individuals, companies, pension plans, insurance reserves, or other funds.
Investment banks
Businesses that make investments, either directly or via a captive fund
Investment trusts, including real estate investment trusts
Mutual funds, hedge funds, and other funds, ownership of which may or may not be publicly traded (these funds typically pool money raised from their owner-subscribers to invest in securities)
Sovereign wealth funds

Also, investors might be classified according to their styles. In this respect, an important distinctive investor psychology trait is risk attitude.

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