Diversifying your investments is always a good idea to spread out your risk, but where should you invest? We put together a list of types of investments where you can put your money to work.
Let’s get started seeing options of where to invest your money.
1. Invest in Companies with Stocks
Stocks allow you to buy shares of a publicly traded company and become a part-owner. If the company performs well and earns a profit, you will benefit by being able to sell your shares at a higher price. Dividends are another way that companies can reward their shareholders and create passive income.
How to start investing with as little as $1,000.
2. Invest in Governments with Bonds
Bonds are a relatively low-risk way to invest while ensuring a steady rate of return. Bonds are loans made to governments and companies at a fixed interest rate, so they provide consistent income as an investor. While the rate of return is generally lower, the volatility is also lower than stocks.
3. Invest in Startups
Startups are companies that are still new and growing. They are not publicly traded on the stock market and are relatively small still. As an angel investor, you can help provide cash or knowledge to startups to help them expand and scale.
4. Invest in Small Businesses
Many small businesses need an infusion of cash to help pay off high-interest debt, scale their operations, or increase cash flow. By providing a loan to businesses, you can help them grow while also earning interest on your investment. If you have an idea, you can also start your own business or side hustle as a great way to earn extra income.
5. Invest in the Infrastructure Sector
The infrastructure industry focuses on companies that provide energy and utilities. Since these are things that people need every day, they can be a good investment to see growth in the future.
6. Invest in the Technology Sector
The technology sector is huge right now since there are so many areas for new technology. As cutting-edge breakthroughs are made, companies are able to harness new technology to make some serious money.
7. Invest in the Education Sector
The education sector is a great investment because it is helping to improve the future of our world. By improving technology and opportunities to children and young adults, you can earn healthy returns while feeling good about helping others learn.
8. Invest in the Energy Sector
Energy is one of the fastest growing sectors to invest in because everyone needs power for their homes and businesses. Advancements in solar, wind, and hydro power are all helping to replace coal and gas power as cleaner, more efficient alternatives.
9. Invest in the Healthcare Sector
Healthcare is something that people will always need, especially as the population ages. Advances in medicine and health tech will continue to drive innovation and opportunities for investment. As we saw with COVID-19, the pharmaceutical companies that are able to find a solution to major problems will also become profitable.
10. Invest in the Defense Sector
Military and defense companies are another sector that tend to see growth and consistent earnings. Governments will always want to continue to improve their military capabilities. They provide funding to companies to develop and build defense technology, so these companies are quite stable.
11. Invest in Physical Real Estate Property
Real estate has long been one of the best ways to make money and it continues to be a safe investment for long-term growth. Buy land, residential, or commercial property to rent out and collect a monthly rental check. Another option is to buy property that is undervalued and to flip it for a profit after fixing it up.
12. Invest in Gold
Gold is a precious metal that has historically gone up in value over the long run. Since gold is used in many electronics and there has been an increase in technology all over the world, the price of gold should continue to go up. Buy physical gold or look to invest in companies and funds that are backed by gold.
13. Invest in Silver
Like gold, silver is a precious metal whose value has consistently gone up decade after decade. You can choose to invest in silver-backed funds or buy physical silver coins and bars to hold. Buy them at a lower price and hold them until they appreciate and can be sold at a higher price.
14. Invest in Diamonds
Diamonds can help to hedge against inflation since high-quality, rare stones can increase in value with time. This can be especially true for diamonds in jewelry that may become collectible. Besides using diamonds for jewelry, they are used in industrial applications for cutting and grinding.
15. Invest in Platinum
Platinum is another precious metal that is physically harder than gold and in high demand. Investing in platinum is another way to take advantage of rising prices of precious metals since it will continue to be used for both jewelry and industrial applications.
16. Invest in Patents and Inventions
There are plenty of inventors that have a great idea. By partnering with them, you can provide capital to make their ideas a reality by patenting it and creating prototypes. These can then be built into a larger business that is profitable or sold to another company for a premium.
17. Invest in Marketing
If you run a business or side hustle, you can invest in marketing to help scale it. With even a small amount of money, you can buy paid ads that will get more visitors to your website and help make more sales. Marketing can include expanding your social media presence, writing a blog, and creating press releases.
18. Invest in Equipment and People
Similarly, use extra money to upgrade your business equipment and staff to increase productivity. This can mean getting faster computers, more vehicles, or hiring more people. By scaling your productivity, you should then be able to make more money and see a return on investment.
19. Invest in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)
Real estate investment trusts, or REITs, are a simple way to start investing in real estate without having to actually own property. Physical property comes with headaches like managing tenants, paying taxes, and general upkeep. Avoid that by investing in REITs that manage properties for you while paying out healthy dividends.
20. Invest in Research and Development (R&D)
As a business, you can invest in creating new technology or expanding your product line. This can be adding more services, creating a new product, or developing something entirely new to sell. By doing so, you can reach a wider audience and maximize your profits.
21. Invest in Securities
Securities are a variety of stocks, bonds, and funds that can be traded as assets. Companies and individual investors can see great profit by buying and selling the right securities at the right time.
23. Invest in Mutual Funds
Mutual funds are managed funds that allow multiple people to pool their money to invest in stocks and bonds. They allow you to diversify your portfolio across a range or companies and financial instruments to minimize your risk.
24. Invest in Equities
Equities are the same thing as stocks, which means that you are a partial owner company when you buy shares. Equities are a good investment to see both capital appreciation over time and benefit from dividends.
25. Invest in Software
Software is the lifeblood of many companies and provides a great opportunity for investors. You can choose to help fund a startup software company, build your own software, or invest in better software for your own business to improve productivity.
26. Invest in Capital
Companies often need extra working capital that will allow them to expand their operations. They may need money to help with mergers and acquisitions to better position themselves in the market. Capital may be needed to buy more product and increase their sales. If you have a large amount of money available to lend to companies, you can earn a profit by helping them grow their company.
27. Invest in Bitcoin
Bitcoin is a digital currency that has seen huge growth over the past few years. If you know a bit about cryptocurrency, you can invest in bitcoin and see it appreciate over time.
28. Invest in Data
Data is extremely valuable to companies since they can use it to make money and get more customers. Data can be used to target ads to specific people, increase sales, and improve products or services. As a business owner, you can invest in gaining access to better data to become more profitable. As an investor, you can invest in companies that have a focus in gathering and analyzing data.
29. Invest in Foreign Markets
Besides domestic companies, you can also invest in foreign markets, companies, and governments. Some of the growing markets include China, India, Australia, and Europe. Diversifying your holdings to stocks and bonds from other areas of the world can take advantage of different market forces.
30. Invest in Commodities
Commodities are typically hard assets that are sold on the commodity market. They can range from precious metals to beef to grain to oil. These are all different forms of assets that generally are bought and sold for a price that is set by the market with minimal variation.
31. Invest in Water
Water is something that all people need but not everyone has easy access to. Invest in companies that help provide water to communities as a relatively stable way to make money. Not only can you make a profit, but you can feel good about helping get water to all people that need it.
32. Invest in Communities
Investing in local communities is a good way to help improve the daily life of many people through more job opportunities, education, and access to critical resources. This can be giving back to a community through creating more jobs, supporting small businesses, or creating a new service.
33. Invest in Content
Content is king and is a way for both individuals and companies to become an authority and make sales. Invest in creating more content for either your personal or corporate brand and you can earn money from that content. Profit can come in the form of advertisements, affiliate offers, or selling your own products and services.
34. Invest in Hedge Funds
Hedge funds generally require a large investment of several million dollars but is a way to try to earn higher returns. Hedge fund managers use a variety of strategies to create complex portfolios of liquid assets in an attempt to maximize returns.
35. Invest in Cloud Computing
The cloud is essentially servers that are accessible on the internet from anywhere in the world. Cloud computing opens up new possibilities for collecting and analyzing data and is a great investment opportunity. You can provide your own cloud hosting services or invest in converting traditional business systems to cloud.
36. Invest in Fine Art
Art is a great investment because is appreciates over times and becomes more valuable. Another benefit is that its performance does not track the stock market and is less volatile. While you will need to know a little about art to invest responsibly, it can provide solid returns.
37. Invest in ETFs
Exchange-Traded Funds, or ETFs, are a way to diversify your holdings across multiple companies. ETFs offer lower expenses since they are passively managed and are easy to access since they are traded on the stock market.
38. Invest in Renewable Energy
With more and more people understanding the seriousness of climate change, there is a push for renewable energy. Investing in companies and technology that focus on solar, wind, and water energy is a great option to make a profit.
39. Invest in Cash
While cash has very low returns, it is also very liquid and stable. Other than losing value to annual inflation, cash is not volatile and will continue to have value for decades to come. To hedge against inflation, invest your cash in high yield savings accounts and CDs.
40. Invest in Forex
Forex is the foreign exchange market that exchanges national currencies against each other. You can invest in foreign currencies and make a profit when they are traded for a higher price than you purchased it for. Due to the complexity and constantly changing nature of forex, make sure you have done your research before investing.
41. Invest in Your Retirement
If you would like to retire at some point in your life, you will need to have enough money saved up to live off of. One of the best investments you can make is to put money into your 401k, Roth IRA, or Traditional IRA. These accounts are tax-advantaged and can earn interest for years if you start early.
42. Invest in Futures
Futures are a way to invest in contracts that give you the right to purchase an asset at a later date. They take advantage of the changes in price of a security without having to actually own it yet. Investing in futures is a good way to diversify your portfolio outside of just owning shares of stocks.
43. Invest in Certificates of Deposits (CDs)
Certificates of Deposit, or CDs, are a non-volatile option that offers safe interest returns. They offer a fixed rate of return with low risk since they are backed by FDIC insurance. The only catch is that you normally cannot withdraw your money early and there is a set term for the CD.
44. Invest in Music Royalties
Artists often sell rights to their music so that other people can earn from their royalties. Music is protected by copyright law and the creator is entitled to collecting royalties whenever the song is played. As an investor, you can purchase rights to songs and then collect music royalties.
45. Invest in Penny Stocks
Penny stocks are smaller companies that have shares that cost less than $5, making them cheap to buy multiple shares. By buying shares at penny stock price and then selling when they go up in value, it is possible to make a healthy profit. Just beware that some of the smaller companies may not be as stable and there is increased risk of losing money.
46. Invest in Films
Everyone likes to watch movies and TV shows and they can be a lucrative investment. If you help fund a new show or film, you will be able to share in the revenue after the expenses are paid. With the increase in streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, there are greater opportunities for filmmakers to pitch and sell their work to get in front of large audiences.
47. Invest in Fine Wine
Fine wine has shown to produce healthy returns over time since there is increased demand for great wine. Since wine prices do not follow the stock market, it is a good way to diversify your risk while starting a fun hobby collecting your favorite wines.
48. Invest in Whiskey
Similar to wine, whiskey ages well and its value goes up with time. For the rarest Scotch whiskeys like Macallan, there have been bottles that have sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction. If you can invest in buying a few bottles of fine whiskey and not open them, they could be worth significantly more years later.
49. Invest in Books
Rare books are another form of investment since their value will go up in time. Books can be republished, but original, mint-condition books are hard to come by. By buying popular and historic books, you can preserve them and expect to have them appreciate over time.
50. Invest in Sports
People love watching sports to follow their favorite teams and watch their favorite players battle it out. Take advantage of this by investing in sports and earning a profit. This can be becoming a part owner of a team, sponsoring an individual athlete, or investing in the infrastructure that surrounds sport.
51. Invest in eSports and Sports Betting
Like live sports, eSport is an opportunity to take advantage of sports moving online. Sports are now accessible to people all over the world in a digital format for both playing and betting. Invest in this eSports technology and the companies that make this possible to see growth for years to come.
52. Invest in Blockchain
Blockchain is a technology that decentralizes data, information, and processes across many different computing stations. This means that it is more secure and does not rely on just one computer or server to process information. As the world looks to improve security and minimize computing resources, Blockchain is a great place to invest.
53. Invest in Treasuries
Treasury securities are investments of bonds, notes, and bills that are issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Since they are issued and backed by the federal government, they are considered very safe investments and provide stable rates of return.
54. Invest in Cannabis
With multiple states legalizing the sale of cannabis, companies have sprung up overnight to take advantage of this new market. While there are still challenges with federal law and distribution, companies operating legally in the cannabis market could see tremendous growth over the next few years.
55. Invest in Baseball Cards
While baseball cards peaked in popularity in the 1990s, they are still popular among collectors and sports enthusiasts. The right baseball card can be sold for thousands of dollars if it is in the right condition. Turn your hobby into an investment by buying and selling baseball cards.
56. Invest in Air Rights
Air rights is similar to real estate except you purchase the rights to the air over a certain piece of property. This is especially important in cities where there are strict zoning laws and limited real estate available. Buying extra air rights allow you to build more floors in your building or add a multi-level parking garage that will bring in more rent.
57. Invest in an Island
If you like warm weather and clear blue water, you could invest in a tropical island resort. You can start your own or renovate an existing resort to earn money from travelers looking for a good time. If you can purchase an entire island, your investment is likely to go up over time since there are limited tropical islands available for purchase.
58. Invest in Delivery Routes
Delivery routes are set territories that companies sell to contractors to deliver their goods. For example, Pepperidge Farm sells protected delivery routes that will give you the right to earn a commission delivering their products. Once you buy a route, you’ll just need a truck and someone to help deliver the product.
59. Invest in Domain Names and Websites
One of my favorite investments is domain names and established websites. You can register a domain name for as little as $10 and then sell it to interested buyers for much higher. The right websites can also be worth a considerable amount of money if they generate consistent income.
