Some products also expose nearby people to toxic secondhand smoke. Find out more on the health effects of smoking, secondhand smoke, other tobacco products and marijuana. 1  Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., causing over 438,000 deaths per year. 2  Secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard for people of all ages, causing more than 41,000 deaths each year.
A financial market is a market in which people trade financial securities, commodities, and other fungible items of value at low transaction costs and at prices that reflect supply and demand. Securities include stocks and bonds, and commodities include precious metals or agricultural products.
The financial industry breaks mutual funds into large categories â called asset classes. Some of the most common asset classes are explained in the graph below. Asset allocation refers to the way an individual investor divides money between these asset classes â and between other non-mutual fund investment options if applicable.