In fact, the bulk of the money has been used for troops, conventional weapons systems and traditional military investments, not for confronting terrorism.

"Ponzi" schemes promise high financial returns or dividends not available through traditional investments.

Fees for managed funds are high compared with those of more traditional investments.

Managed futures have historically displayed very low correlations to traditional investments, such as stocks and bonds.

Jewelry, like land, is a traditional investment here, one of the last possessions to be sold.

Cigna said it was withdrawing from the venture-capital field to concentrate on traditional investments.

When more traditional investments are doing well, interest in alternative investments like stamps may quickly wane.

Investors in timberland may be able to count on another benefit: Returns are not highly correlated with those of traditional investments.

A traditional investment in photovoltaics without incentives would take 12 or more years to pay back the initial cost.

If they sat tight for long periods, analysts told them, their stocks would outperform bonds and other traditional investments.