A stock is just a slide of a company Options are options to buy a stock, self explanatory but there are tons of versions and nuances. Main idea is it's like gambling and uses leverage, so you can expect to either lose it all or gain a lot. ETFs and baskets like the S&P are bundles of stocks You can buy precious metals indirectly by buying stocks / ETFs that track the metal prices, like OUNZ for gold or SLV for silver. It's also a lot easier to take out options on these items.