Investment Style

Investment Philosophy

Basic standards and beliefs guiding one's investing practices. Factors influencing one's investment philosophy include risk tolerance, investment goals, and personal beliefs about what guides markets. Investment philosophies may vary widely from each other. For example, when investing in securities, one investor may use technical analysis, which utilizes statistical information exclusively, while another may use fundamental analysis, which uses both quantitative and qualitative information. It is also called an investment strategy. See also: Naive diversification, Markowitz Portfolio Theory.

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Investment style. Investment style refers to the approach that investors, including professional money managers, take in selecting individual investments and assembling portfolios as they seek to achieve their investment goals.

For example, a mutual fund that is focused on small-cap stocks might seek long-term capital appreciation by choosing aggressive growth stocks. Another small-cap fund with the same objective might build a portfolio of underpriced value stocks.

Evaluating a fund's investment style -- which is typically described as aggressive, moderate, conservative, or contrarian -- is an important consideration in choosing among mutual funds and ETFs. You'll want to be sure that any fund you purchase is compatible with your individual risk tolerance.