Although rental income provides a stable return, this class has a moderate to high risk overall, as property values can rise and fall. It can also take some time to sell property investments, meaning that property investment are better suited to long-term investors. Shares Shares are also sometimes called equities. When you buy a share, you purchase a part of the ownership of a company. The return from shares is similar to property in that it is a combination of dividends and changes in the share price.
Dividends are a share of the profits of the company.
The share price reflects what someone wanting to buy a share is prepared to pay for it. Shares generally provide the best returns of the four investment classes, but have the highest risk as shares can rise or fall sharply. While you might be tempted to avoid risk altogether, the downside is that this would give you lower returns. So you need to weigh up the level of risk you are comfortable with, to meet your investment needs. In the short-term, risk is linked to how much returns can vary.