Investing in productive assets that earn money from certain activities most of the time is ideal.

For example, a painting does not mean you have bought a means of production for your business; forty years later, all you have is this work of art, which may or may not be worth a lot of money.

On the other hand, if you invest in an apartment building, you own a structure that is likely to appreciate in value and earn forty years of rental income from the property.

Each productive asset type has its advantages and disadvantages, characteristics, tax regulations, and other related characteristics.

Three of the most common productive investment assets—stocks, bonds, and real estate—are covered here.

Invest in stocks

When individuals speak of investing in stocks, they almost always mean the common shares of public companies. However, you can also talk about gaining partial control of a private company that also issues shares to its owners, but those shares are not traded on a stock exchange.

Investment In Private Companies

If you own shares in a company, which means you own a part of the company, you are entitled to a percentage of the profits generated from the day-to-day operations of the company.

Putting money into a company that is just getting started can be dangerous. But you can back the right people or people with the right ideas. In that case, you can reap the risk rewards by seeing a significant return on investment, which is the process by which private companies occasionally sell parts of their businesses to outside investors.

After the company is listed and the stock is listed on the stock exchange, anyone can buy the stock and become a shareholder.

The type of stock you buy may vary from person to person.

If you seek stability, consider buying blue chips, stocks with a long history of steady dividends and shareholder returns.

Of the myriad types of stocks, blue chips represent the most productive assets available. Investing in bonds When you buy bonds, you're giving money to the bond issuer in exchange for interest income and, ultimately, your principal, the amount you originally invested.

Because of this income, bonds are considered productive assets. When it comes to bindings, you have a few options.

Buying U.S. government bonds is considered a risk-free investment in terms of reputation and default risk because investors assume the federal government will not be able to meet its repayment obligations.

Consider investing in tax-free municipal bonds issued by local, county, and state governments. These bonds can be purchased from any of these levels of government, and these bonds are exempt from federal income taxes and may also be exempt from state and local income taxes.

Finally, you can invest your money in corporate bonds.

The credit risk of these bonds depends on how creditworthy investors believe in the companies that issue them. Corporate bonds considered particularly vulnerable to credit or default risk are known as "high-yield" or "junk bonds."

Invest in real estate

Most people invest in real estate and plan to rent out the homes they buy. They can earn more income by selling the property for more than they initially believed.

Buying shares in real estate investment trusts, or REITs for short, is a method of investing in real estate that doesn't require the direct involvement of investors.

In exchange for favorable tax treatment, these companies must return 90% of their taxable income to shareholders as dividends. These companies own different real estate types, such as hotels, office buildings, and storage units, and must meet this requirement.

Ownership Structure After identifying the asset classes you are interested in owning, the next step is deciding how to hold those assets.

For example, if you want to invest in stocks, you can own the shares directly or participate in a pooled investment structure. You can buy shares in specific companies or invest in funds that hold shares now in the market.