Investing the right way could see your wealth grow astronomically. But at the same time, investing the wrong way can obliterate your finances completely. For this reason, beginner investors are often reluctant to settle on investment opportunities. With intensifying economic and political uncertainty, finding the most profitable investments has become even more tricky.
If you aren’t too enticed by the idea of investing in stocks and bonds or other traditional options, you could consider storing your wealth in alternative investments. Even though some alternative avenues involve private assets like equity, credit, real estate, and infrastructure, making these opportunities exclusively available to the world’s wealthiest, there are still several alternative investments that are accessible to a larger demographic of people.
Let’s explore five of the most lucrative yet accessible alternative investments.
Bitcoin
The value of Bitcoin continues to grow impressively year after year for more than a decade. While cryptocurrencies are incredibly volatile, Bitcoin proves to be a high-yield, long-term wealth-building opportunity due to scarcity, increasing demand, tech advancements, and its ability to hedge against inflation.
Moreover, anyone with an internet connection and a few hundred dollars can start investing in Bitcoin. Platforms and apps like Noones make accessing, trading, and using Bitcoin exceptionally convenient.
While Bitcoin is a top option for crypto investors, it’s worthwhile to consider diversifying your portfolio with other digital coins. Ethereum, Tether, Binance Coin, and Moero are profitable digital coins with positive market predictions. However, it’s crucial to research coins before investing, as some newly developed coins may fall away within a few short years.
Peer-To-Peer Lending
According to global trends, the estimated growth rate for the peer-to-peer market is over 30%. This market consists of borrowers in search of unsecured personal, educational, or even business loans and investors looking for higher return rates than what they would get with traditional types of assets.
These transactions take place online with the help of P2P lending platforms lending a hand by matching lenders and borrowers while charging nominal fees. Borrowers can access loans at lower rates, while lenders enjoy higher returns.
Your earnings will depend on your initial investment amount, but you can expect to increase your investment by about 10% per year or more. You can create a stable passive income with the right loan strategy and a carefully curated lender portfolio.
Gold
While it’s advisable to purchase a larger amount of gold per transaction, you can invest in gold for as little as $100. Because gold is the oldest and most stable currency, it is the safest alternative investment. Gold, like Bitcoin, is a savvy investment to hedge against inflation and secure wealth even during economic downturns.
Gold has a long-standing history of maintaining its value despite market conditions. Even though gold prices typically increase when the US dollar drops and during harsh economic and political uncertainty. The only factor that causes a decrease in gold value is decreased demand rather than fluctuating market indicators.
That said, you can also consider investing in silver and other commodities like platinum, copper, or even crude oil. However, gold is the most valuable and stable option.
Fine Art
While some may believe that fine art is a dying market, research proves that the global art market has grown from a cool $441.00 billion back in 2022 to a shocking $580.00 billion in 2023. Art can be a lucrative investment with a compound annual growth rate of over 30%. That said, the global art market value holds strong even during economic uncertainty.
The price of fine art can be increased or decreased with fractional ownership that offers artists from all backgrounds the opportunity to make an income through creating. At the same time, the market offers investors the option of investing in loans supported by the artist, who can then generate a monthly income.
When it comes to identifying fine art that’s a worthwhile investment, it’s wise to learn a bit about the art market and find established artists—by looking into exhibition history, artwork condition, artists’ career reputation, and art trends. As an art collector, it’s also wise to diversify your collection to reduce the risks of loss.
Fine Wine
Fine wine is one of the more often overlooked alternative investments despite the fact that investing in a wine collection can yield astronomical wealth in the long term. The trick is purchasing the best bottles from plentiful harvests and storing them correctly. A wine-collecting hobby can see you buying a bottle for $50 and later selling it for several thousand dollars.
If you decide to start collecting wine as an alternative investment, you must devote some time to learning how to identify a good harvest. If the harvest is good, the weather will be well-balanced throughout the year while the grapes are growing. But it’s still a bit more complicated than just that. Once you figure out how to find the best harvests, you will also need to learn how to store wine so that it ages well and correctly. Unfortunately, incorrectly storing wine can cause it to become vinegar, which is valueless.
Wine should be stored at about ten to fifteen degrees Celsius, so you must invest in wine refrigerators if you are not able to build a wine cellar. If temperatures are too high, the wine will spoil. At the same time, if temperatures are too low, the aging process will slow down, and the bottle won’t accumulate value.
Investing in stocks and bonds is not the only way to store and grow wealth. With growing economic uncertainty amid political developments and the aftermath of the covid 19 pandemic, now is the right time to steer clear of traditional investments that are currently unstable.
Alternative investments like Bitcoin, wine, art, peer-to-peer lending, and gold are all accessible and potentially lucrative investments. That said, be sure to properly research alternative investment opportunities before jumping in to ensure you are choosing a lucrative long-term option that really can help maximize your wealth.
