The Bottom Line
Conservative-minded investors who are looking for a bit of stability in the equity portion of their portfolios will first want to check out mature industries, where there is the best selection of blue-chip stocks that are widely traded, having extreme trading liquidity. Investors with a taste for risk may want to take advantage of the higher potential for return that growth industries can provide. And investors who like to live their lives on the razor edge between success and failure may consider investments in emerging industries, even though such investments tend to be geared toward private companies. The only constant when it comes to considering investments in various industries is that it may be best to avoid industries in decline.