First, define what safe means to you. If safe means that your principal investment value will remain the same, then there are no safe stocks to invest in. But if you're seeking stocks will less volatility and lower likelihood of corporate bankruptcy, that's another question. Stocks such as utilities tend to provide higher dividends and less volatility. Some investors lean towards dividend stocks. A strong company balance sheet indicates a lower risk of company failure. In general, if you're looking for principal protection and secure value, you're better off investing in CDs, Treasury bills, and money market mutual funds. But, if you have money that you won't need for decades, such as for retirement, you're likely to receive higher long-term growth by investing in stocks rather than cash. A good rule of thumb is to invest money that you'll need in the next five to seven years in cash investments and moneys needed for the future can be invested in the stock market in a diversified mutual fund such as Vanguard's Total Stock Market (VTI) index fund and a portion in a bond fund.