1.
investment offer; investment pitch
A proposal that someone put money into a venture, fund, or scheme. Usually said of an offer brought to you by another person, and very often in warnings about fraud.
投資 (investment) + 話 (talk, proposal), with rendaku turning はなし into ばなし. The same pattern gives 儲け話 (a money-making proposition) and 昔話 (an old tale).
Common collocations
- 投資話を持ちかける: to approach someone with an investment offer
- うまい投資話: an investment offer that sounds too good to be true
- 投資話に乗る: to go along with an investment offer
- 投資話を断る: to turn down an investment offer
Register
The word carries a faint smell of risk. A legitimate financial firm would speak of 投資の提案 or 運用の相談; 投資話 suggests something informal, often brought by an acquaintance, and is the standard word in news reports about investment fraud.