Portfolio

From ArticleWorld

Portfolios are essentially summaries of the assets, investments, abilities, educational background or skills possessed by individuals or companies. As such the term is widely applied to several fields which include finance, education, marketing, management and many others.

Finance, management and marketing

Financial portfolios are essentially a collection of the investments that are held by companies, institutions or individuals. Investments can include stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Stocks are investments in businesses, bonds investments in debt that accumulate interest and mutual funds are pools of money from several investors that are invested by professionals. In marketing and management portfolios refer to collections of items such as products or services that offered for sale by companies.

Education

Portfolios in education are personal collections of data that describe and document the accomplishments of an individual. These may include many formats that vary from learning logs to documentation of achievements. The use of educational portfolios is mainly for job searches and professional development. Many people around the world have used some type of portfolio and with the explosion of knowledge, information and learning technologies many people now use electronic portfolios also called ePortfolios. These are actually visual representations of the finest work produced by the individuals in a way that shows uniqueness.

Others

In art and photography models, artists and architects are often required when seeking employment to submit portfolios that contain examples of their prior work. These portfolios also can include recommendations provided from previous employers. The portfolio in these cases will include photographs, newspaper or magazine clippings or blueprints. In politics this term is used in association with the job duties required to be performed by the members of the government.