You purchased some stock last month for $50 per share- Today the stock closed at $80 per share. You would like to protect the profit that you have made on this stock but you really don't want to sell it in case it continues to rise in price- What should you do?

There are 4 main types of investments:
Shares. 
Property. ...
Cash.
Fixed interest.

Often, people take investment to be about buying and selling shares only. You buy a stock or bond, with the hope that its value will increase over time. Although investing comes with the risk of losing money, should a stock or bond decrease in value, it also has the potential for greater returns than you'd receive by putting your money in a bank account. Thus the common clubbing of investment and share investing.