Investors are always on the hunt for a new opportunity that will yield great profits. New investors in particular are hungry for that next bite of the apple, and a good place to start is always with the stock market. But the lessons of the marketplace quickly fill the mind of a new investor on the prowl for new diversification opportunities — after all, rebalancing and diversifying your portfolio is one of the first lessons the marketplace can teach a novice stock picker.
When you’ve learned the best practices for new investors, and the insights that the stock market can impart, it’s time to grow into new and more lucrative investment areas. Utilizing these three alternatives is a great way to continue learning and advancing as an investor on the lookout for new ways to grow your capital and savings.
1. Gold and Silver Bullion
Precious metals are a great addition to any portfolio. Gold, silver, or platinum bullion is a solid investment that offers unique stability that is anchored in the tangible weight of the thing. These metals are commodities for their beautiful sheen, but also as a result of their utility in electrical equipment. Not only does sentimental value exist within bullion, but its relative scarcity in relation to the actual commercial need also continues to buoy the value ever higher.
The addition of gold or silver in particular to a new investor’s portfolio is a great way to add collateral purchasing power as well — borrowing against your precious metals holdings is simple in comparison to leverage with stocks or other negotiable assets.
2. Real Estate
Literally, anyone can participate in the sale and ownership of real estate assets. From the REIT — Real Estate Investment Trust — funds that adorn the property sector of the stock market to real property purchases in the physical world, real estate offers a powerful asset class that continues to flourish no matter the market conditions around it. Even in the depths of the housing crisis that shocked the world financial system more than a decade ago, people were still buying homes; everyone needs to live somewhere, after all.
Real estate investors often utilize cutting edge tools to check the history of the property online. Evaluating a real estate investment takes time and a learning curve that may be harsh during some buying opportunities that you will see as a property investor. But keeping at it and learning how to identify great value in the marketplace will help you come out ahead on many of your future buying opportunities. Similar to the collateral value of gold and silver, the real estate marketplace offers a unique ability to leverage equity into future borrowing, buying, or spending potential.
3. Bonds
Finally, investing in bonds is the best way to lock in guaranteed profits. Unlike other asset classes, bonds provide a face value and maturity date and value. At the end of a bond’s term, you can cash the asset into the issuing agent and receive the exact amount back that the bond states its value to be. There is no negotiation or speculation involved in the value of a bond holding.
For this reason, many investors utilize bonds to hedge against other, more volatile types of investments. New investors benefit greatly from this locked in security as it gives them the freedom to be a little riskier with their other buying opportunities. As well, bond holdings make calculating your taxpayer information far easier than other asset classes.
Looking into these assets is a good place to begin when seeking out different types of investment opportunities that exist apart from the stock market. Adding in new streams of investment is the best way to boost your portfolio for the long term.
