When you mention the term investments, most people immediately jump to purchasing stocks and bonds. If you are a bit on the adventurous side, you might consider a real estate investment trust (REIT). In addition, there are some people who believe that purchasing stocks of mining companies or putting your money in a metals exchange-traded fund (ETF) as a way to invest in silver, gold, platinum and other metals. However, these are not the only investment opportunities that are available and are certainly not the best ones. The best investment opportunities are those that can make you a lot of money in the long run.

These are not get-rich-quick schemes and are legitimate investment vehicles that can enable you to prosper. If you want to know the best vehicles for investing your money, here are some of the options on best investments you can explore:

Best Investments 2019

Peer-to-Peer Lending

This is a rather new phenomenon and refers to online services that offer personal loans, loans for businesses or for anything else you can possibly imagine. Once the borrower is vetted and qualifies for the loan, the money is actually funded by the public. How? Put simply, there is a pool of investors who come together and are willing to loan their money to others. There is no involvement of any bank. Different investors just pool their funds together and make a loan to the business or individual who are in need of funds.

Why is peer-to-peer lending a good option? You can get some of the best rates as they are higher than anywhere else. As a matter of fact, a number of people are able to get returns in the double digits. A fixed payment will be received on a monthly basis, which also includes the interest owed to you. Yes, there is a risk because you are loaning to people who are unable to get a loan from the bank or other financial institutions. However, it is up to you to decide what borrowers to approve and who to reject.

Gold

One of the best investments that you can make in 2018 or any other year is gold. It is a liquid asset that serves as a tangible inflation hedge and also a long-term store of value. Due to these reasons, it is considered as a tough competitor of stocks and belongs to the sought-after class of assets. Gold functions as a great diversifier as it doesn’t have a correlation with other class of assets, such as stocks. This is more pronounced in difficult times when gold performs the job of a rescue asset.

There are different ways that you can use for investing in gold. You can choose to buy and hold physical colds such as bars or coins or go for gold accounts, gold-exchange traded funds (ETFs) or directly investing through gold mining futures or stocks and options. However, the best investments are the ones that involve direct methods of getting gold. It is recommended that you allocate about 5 percent to 10 percent of your investment portfolio to gold to keep it healthy and diversified.

Real Estate

.Another addition to the list of best investments is real estate and when going for this option, you can purchase and own property. In simple terms, you can become a landlord. The variety that real estate has to offer has definitely played a notable role in making it one of the best investments. You can purchase a multi-family dwelling such as an apartment complex, duplex or house and then collect rent. This can give you very high returns because there is no need to pay in full for the property you purchase. A down payment has to be made and the rest is financed by the bank. But, you collect the rental income and enjoy the appreciation of the property. This is referred to as leverage. However, you don’t have to become a landlord, you could also follow the lead of a real estate investor like Than Merrill who can be seen on the TV show Flip This House buying a piece of property, renovating it, and selling it (hopefully) for a profit.

Others looking for best investments can also join in and like-minded investors can create partnerships. In this way, you are able to spread the risk and you can also partner up with people who are more knowledgeable about real estate as compared to you. Bear in mind that you shouldn’t just up and buy real estate because you believe it to be one of the best investments you can make. You first need to think if you have what it takes to be a landlord. Yes, it offers you returns, but it also has its share of headaches that are not routine. Accidents occur, things break and people fall behind on their rental payments. A management company can be hired to deal with these issues, but this costs money.

Having your Own Business for Best Investments

Establishing and developing your own business is also one of the best investments you could make this year. It has become easier than ever to do so and it is one of the best investments because it is known to offer the highest returns amongst all investment choices. Nonetheless, you should also bear in mind that even though it does fall in the category of best investments, if it fails, it can lead to huge losses and sorrow.

There are businesses that end up producing a steady and nice income over time, thereby making them the best investments. But, these should be businesses where you can use your skills and knowledge. You can establish an online business as per your convenience.

Equity Crowdfunding

Last, but not the least, another one of the best investments is equity crowdfunding. This is a good option for those who don’t want to have their own business and can own a part of someone else’s. Startups that need money offer their shares on equity crowdfunding sites. If you purchase these shares, you can only part of the company and will earn the rewards if it succeeds.

Explore these options when you are looking for the best investments. Decide how much you wish to invest, how much risk you wish to take and then enjoy the returns in the long run.