An investment account is maintained with a financial institution such as a bank, brokerage house, or sometimes even an insurance company. The main purpose of this type of accounts is capital preservation and growth, as well as fixed income gain through long-term deposits in the asset portfolio. While the word "investing" is generally a very broad definition that covers a range of proactive uses of assets -- such as patents, trademarks, rare wines, gold coins, small businesses, real estate, and antiques -- investment accounts hold less tangible assets, like cash , stocks, bonds and mutual funds.