How you choose a product / security to invest in is actually not very different from how you would buy a household item. Just that the cost of it is magnified and it may be intangible. It's in common sense that we want our new household item to 1) Serve its intended purpose well You want to be able to use the item to your intended purpose so that you can do work much more efficiently with it. Otherwise, consider to get something else instead. Similarly, you want your investment to work for you and give you the expected ROI (returns on investment) eg. through dividends, capital appreciation. 2) Be value for money You don't want to overpay for your item. Naturally for that purpose you will wait until it goes on a sale or you would compare prices for the lowest between various shops (if there's no price standard set)....