We’re being slippery with terms. Savings is holding something to preserve value to be communicated/exchanged with someone later. Investment is deploying something of value in the hopes of generating more value than initially deployed (and involves risking loss of value in the process). Counter party risk is a relevant concern when choosing a good savings tool or investment vehicle, but it doesn’t come into play in classification Planting seeds is a form of investment that carries no counter party risk, for example