How does the older investor differ in his approach to investment from the younger investor？

    There is no shortage of tipsters around offering 'get-rich-quick' opportunities. But if you are a serious private investor， leave the Las Vegas mentality to those with money to fritter. The serious investor needs a proper 'portfolio' —— a well-planned selection of investments， with a definite structure and a clear aim. But exactly how does a newcomer to the stock market go about achieving that？

    Well， if you go to five reputable stock brokers and ask them what you should do with your money， you're likely to get five different answers， —— even if you give all the relevant information about your age age， family， finances and what you want from your investments. Moral？ There is no one 'right' way to structure a portfolio. However， there are undoubtedly some wrong ways， and you can be sure that none of our five advisers would have suggested sinking all （or perhaps any） of your money into Periwigs*.

    So what should you do？ We'll assume that you have sorted out the basics —— like mortgages， pensions， insurance and access to sufficient cash reserves. You should then establish your own individual aims. These are partly a matter of personal circumstances， partly a matter of psychology.

    For instance， if you are older you have less time to recover from any major losses， and you may well wish to boost your pension income. So preserving your capital and generating extra income are your main priorities. In this case， you'd probably construct a portfolio with some shares （but not high risk ones）， along with gilts， cash deposits， and perhaps convertibles or the income shares of split capital investment trusts.

    If you are younger， and in  a solid financial position， you may decide to take an aggressive approach —— but only if you're blessed with a sanguine disposition and won't suffer sleepless nights over share prices. If portfolio， alongside your more pedestrian in vestments. Once you have decided on your investment aims， you can then decide where to put your money. The golden rule here is spread your risk —— if you put all of your money into Periwigs International， you're setting yourself up as a hostage to fortune.

    *'Periwigs' is the name of a fictitious company.

    INVESTOR'S CHRONICLE， March 23 1990

    New words and expressions 生词和短语

    portfolio

    n.  投资组合

    tipster

    n.  （以提供证券投机等内部消息为主的）情报贩子

    Las Vegas

    n.  拉斯韦加斯

    fritter

    v.  挥霍，浪费

    reputable

    n.  享有声望的

    broker

    n.  经纪人

    finance

    n.  资金，财源

    mortgage

    n.  抵押贷款

    pension

    n.  养老金

    priority

    n.  优先权

    gilt

    n.  金边证券（高度可靠的证券）

    convertible

    n.  可换证券

    sanguine

    adj. 乐观的

    heady

    adj. 令人陶醉的

    alongside

    prep. 在……旁边，和……一起

    pedestrian

    adj. 平淡无奇的，乏味的

    参考译文

    我们周围不乏情报贩子，向人们提供迅速发财致富的机遇。但是，如果你是一个认真的私人投资者，就把拉斯韦加斯的心态留给那些有钱可供挥霍的人。认真的投资者需要一份正规的投资组合表 —— 一种计划很周密的投资选择，包括你的投资结构和明确的目标。但是， 一个股票市场的新手又如何能做到这一点呢？

    如果你去向5位有威望的股票经纪人咨询，询问你应该如何使用你的资金，你可能得到5种不同的答复，即便你提供了有关于你的年龄、家庭、财源和你想从投资中获得好处的信息。这是个道德问题吗？没有一种完全"正确"的方法来排列这种投资组合，然而，却毫无疑问地有几种错误的方法。可以相信5位经纪人中不会有人建议你把全部（或一部份）资金投入佩里威格斯公司。

    那么你该怎么做呢？我们假定你已把基本情况弄清楚了，如抵押贷款、养老金、保险金和动用现金储备的机会。然后，你一定要建立起自己的目标。这里一方面是个所处的环境，另一方面是个心理学的问题。

    比如说，如果你年纪较大，你从重大投资损失中恢复过来的时间就较少，你就很希望能够提高你的养老金收入。因此，你的首要任务就是保护你的资金和引发额外的收入。在这种情况下，你大概想制定一份包括某些股份（但不是风险很大的股份）的投资组合，同时还有高度可靠的证券、现金储蓄，可能还有可换证券，或分割资本投资信托公司的所得股。

    如果你年轻一些，并且经济状况可靠，你可能会采取一种积极进取的方式 —— 你必须性格开朗，不会因股票价格的浮动而夜不能眠。如果你觉得你的情况是这样的话，你可在投资组合中包括几项有令人陶醉的增值前景的增长股，和其他比较平淡的投资项目放在一起。一旦你的投资组合中包括几项有令人陶醉的增值前景的增长股，和其他比较平淡的投资项目放在一起。一旦你的投资目标确立以后，你就可以决定你的钱投向何处。这里的指导原则是：分散你的投资风险。如果你把所有资金投入佩里威格斯国际公司，你就把自己当成了命运的人质