What Type of Investing is Right for You?

By Olivia Rahim | April 21, 2021

If you want to find out more about the world of investing and what it has to offer, you will quickly discover that there are multiple types of investing that you can try. It isn’t as simple as just choosing to put some money in a certain fund and just letting it be. You need to make sure that your money is going to precisely the right source. Investing is a true skill, and you need to find the right medium for you. Here are some of the major types of investment you might consider.

Stocks

One of the first types of investing that people will often consider is stocks. It is the most well-known type of investment and is easily accessible to many. Stocks are also sometimes referred to as shares and are small stakes in a publicly-traded company. When a company goes public, you have the opportunity to buy these stocks.

Those who buy stocks then wait for the prices of their chosen stocks to go up, as this will then give them the chance to sell them for a profit. There are many different factors that can affect the price of stocks. Big, worldwide events can have an effect on their prices, others can be affected by the actions of the company itself. 

Judging when can be a good time to sell your stocks can be difficult, which is why it is often recommended that you find the services of a stockbroker. Some people prefer to turn the management of their stocks entirely over to a stockbroker, others might have a tighter control of them and choose to use some type of program to better manage their stock. Even if you want to invest on a very small scale, there are now plenty of apps that will allow you to do so. Investing through stocks is an easy way to start, though it does carry the risk of your stocks never appreciating in value.

Bonds

Another popular option is to buy bonds. These are a loan given by the investor to an entity. It could be a corporation, or it could even be the government who issues the bonds. In exchange for buying the bond, you will receive interest payments over a certain number of years. Many bonds carry terms of approximately 25 years, so you will receive interest payments for this length of time.

Some types of bonds have other benefits as well. Items like premium bonds pay out with prizes rather than interest payments. While there is no guarantee that you will get a prize, there is a chance that you could get a much higher one than if you were to just take steady interest.

Bonds can lose value, just as stocks do, but they are worth considering. There are many types of bond out there, and each one could add something to your investment portfolio. Since diversification is key for a happy portfolio, you might want to consider adding some bonds in there to even things out.

Gold

Gold is a great option for investment. However, it does require a lot of planning on your part. First of all, gold bullion is a physical entity. Whereas most large sums of money nowadays can be traded without being represented by stacks of cash, buying gold bullion does mean that you are going to have to physically store it somewhere. This can be expensive and somewhat difficult to do. You also need to make sure that you are buying legitimate gold from a reputable dealer, and if it is older then you might need to get it authenticated by an expert.

Therefore, it can sometimes be better to look for alternatives. Gold ETFs (exchange traded fund) is a fantastic option here. It allows you to buy an asset, in this case gold, but manage and sell it similarly to how you would with stocks. This can make it much easier for you to handle, whether you are an experienced investor or new to the game.

Everyone is tempted by what the gold markets can offer when they first look to investing, but the reality is that this can be an incredibly difficult market to move in. ETFs make trading gold that little bit easier to manage, and they could be a fantastic addition to the right portfolio.

Property

If you have a significant amount of money to sink into investment, the property markets can offer some interesting opportunities here. There are three main avenues that property investors can look at – commercial, buy-to-sell, and buy-to-let. 

Commercial properties can be a little more expensive than residential ones depending on the area and the purpose of the building. They might also be a little difficult to manage if they have certain licenses attached to them. For example, if you want to invest in a unit with the view of leasing it to a restauranteur, it will be necessary to check whether the unit has a license for selling and serving alcohol. However, it can be a great option, particularly if you are able to purchase an entire building and rent out multiple units within it. 

Buy-to-sell takes advantage of the property market and the rise and drop in prices. Many property investors like to buy low-cost properties that are in need of renovation, do them up, and then sell them on. This can be done either by the investor themselves, or they might have a team of contractors that they wish to work with. By keeping a close eye on the budget of the renovations, they might be able to turn a profit as the finished house should be worth a lot more than when they bought it.

Buy-to-rent may also have an element of renovation to it, as many investors do prefer to buy the lower-cost properties even if they require some extra work. However, the aim here is to market the property to the rental market. This means that the investor should hope to recuperate the cost of the property and its renovations back from tenants over a period of time. However, choosing to rent your property out does come with its own list of difficulties. You, as a landlord, will have to pay extra costs that come with this type of property ownership. On top of this, you will also have to be answerable to your tenants in terms of repairs unless you opt to use a letting agency who also deal with property management. Finally, if you are using a mortgage to purchase the property, you need to ensure that you have one that will allow you to rent out the property in the first place as not all do.

Cryptocurrencies

The above investment methods have been around for decades and they have helped many people achieve financial success over the years. However, there are some new forms of investment emerging in the digital age. Cryptocurrency is one such investment line that you may wish to look into of these new options. The most famous of these cryptocurrencies is Bitcoin, but there are several other options out there such as Litecoin or Ethereum. 

Cryptocurrencies are decentralised, meaning that no government has control over them in the same way that they do over regular currencies. They are also considered to be a safe option for those who value their privacy as their transactions are designed to contain very little information about the person buying or selling. They have a unique ID attached to them, and this is pretty much the only information they are obligated to pass over. Transactions in other mediums will have much more data attached to them, even with an agreement from both parties to remain anonymous.

Of the options you could choose, cryptocurrencies are one of the more volatile. Anyone wishing to invest in cryptocurrencies should have a good portfolio to back them up, with a good level of diversification across other sources.

What to Remember When Investing

When you choose to look into investing, you need to ensure that you are committing to the time it takes to invest successfully. Knowledge is power in these markets, and you have to make sure that you are prepared to learn how to manage your resources correctly. 

Investing will always carry a degree of risk to it. You should never be investing anything that you cannot afford to lose, as there is no guarantee that it will make money. There is no such thing as risk-free investing, and you should stay clear of anyone who claims to offer you such.

However, with that said, there are some fantastic opportunities available to those who want to try their hand at investing. Take a look at some of the options out there, whether it is one we have listed above or another. The world of investing is fascinating, and it can offer a lot to those willing to put the work in and create a diverse portfolio.