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REDDITAre you an early adopter? Whether you lead the pack in technology, investing, or anything else, there’s one thing we can all agree on—you don’t want to be behind the curve. The truth is that most of us are probably somewhere in the middle on knowing what’s “hot” as far as investments go. And while some might shy away from the word “trendy”, the truth is that these are the kinds of people who know what’s happening before it actually happens. This is a key trait to have when knowing where to put your money, but if you’re feeling a bit lost, we can help. Read on for five trendy investment trends that have come up in recent years.
Peer-to-Peer Lending
And, no, we’re not talking about giving money to your brother (again) with interest or investing in your crazy Uncle Larry’s latest pyramid scheme. This is a legitimate means many people have begun to use to store their extra cash. There are lending clubs or companies that hook you up with the person in need of the loan and, in essence, you become the bank. As this Forbes article explains, in doing this “you’re investing in other people and their goals. It’s comforting knowing you aren’t lending people you don’t know large sums of money. Instead, the money you invest is split up into increments as small as $25 over hundreds or even thousands of loans.” It’s easy to sign up for and your rate of return can range from 5-7 percent. It might sound crazy but this is about the soundest crazy idea you’ll ever go with.
Cryptocurrency
If you haven’t heard of cryptocurrency, you’ve likely heard of its biggest type, Bitcoin. But if you haven’t heard of that, you could very well have been trapped under something heavy the last few years. This is a digital currency that uses encryption techniques for regulation of its currency generation, all outside of centralized banking. So if these data breaches over the last few years have been of concern, or if you’ve been seeking transactions with a bit more privacy, this could very well be the type of investment you’ve been seeking. Some people have been investing in it for years, but not to worry if you are new to the game, as there is an awesome coinbase review that will teach you how and where to buy cryptocurrency.
Real Estate
It might be a bit of a stretch to call real estate investment trendy but with the craziness of the housing bubble bursting a few years back, investing in this realm lost a bit of luster. It’s back in force, and there are a couple of ways to do this—one is to buy a property and to become the landlord for it. This isn’t for the faint of heart but can be lucrative if you find the right property and stick out the markets. The second way is to invest in real estate notes, which allows you to stay clear of having any physical property to manage. You’ll need some good contacts in real estate, though, as typically how this works is one person buys a pool of real estate properties and then this person gets investors for these. If you’re a bit squeamish about leaving this in the hands of one person, there are companies that provide this service, too. As with any investment, none of these options is without risk. As the saying goes, though, with no risk comes no reward.
Go for the Gold
This is the ultimate in trendiness when it comes to investments, as you’ve likely heard a lot of chatter in the last couple of years about people being urged to invest in gold. If you’ve seen the rises and falls in gold’s market over the last couple of years, you’d know that this is extremely volatile. But most investors will tell you that, if you’ve got the money, investing in gold can be a good way to diversify your portfolio.
The Stock Market
Much like with real estate, you might think investing in the stock market is anything but trendy. But if you look at the numbers of people who have pulled out due to its volatility over the last ten years, you know that this kind of investment these days is nearing the cutting edge. You have to have a certain comfort with risk to enter (but remember that part about no risk, no reward, right?). The safest thing for those on any kind of budget is to do a risk assessment with your financial advisor. Based on your replies, your advisor will ideally invest in a diverse array of mutual funds and ETFs. If you like to have more control over your investments, you can do so via companies like E-Trade and TD Ameritrade. And you should never disregard those who are savvy in investing in penny stocks.
Go with any of these trendy investment plans and you could very well be ahead of the pack when it comes to your long-term financial goals.
