Investment Options and Due Diligence

This unit expands students’ understanding of investment vehicles, information sources, and practical steps for acquiring real estate or small businesses. Students evaluate options, detect misleading claims, and apply portfolio and financing principles to align choices with financial goals, building on foundational concepts and preparing for advanced strategy and implementation in subsequent units.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze and compare characteristics (risk, return, liquidity, tax implications, and time horizon) of stocks, bonds, funds, real estate, small-business ownership, and lending investments to determine suitability for specified financial goals.
• Evaluate the credibility and accuracy of investment information from online brokerages, corporate reports, newsletters, media (radio, podcasts, television), and internet resources, identifying unaudited claims, hype, conflicts of interest, and other red flags.
• Apply portfolio management principles to construct and adjust a diversified portfolio that balances growth and income objectives, including selection of bonds, funds, and lending investments and strategies to maintain perspective during market euphoria or overconfidence.
• Demonstrate the procedural and financing considerations for acquiring real estate or a small business—working with agents, performing due diligence, assessing financing and incorporation options, and completing closing steps—and evaluate when buying is or is not an appropriate strategy.