For example, if you want to buy a rental property, you’ll probably need enough money to make a down payment. If you want to put money in a high-yield CD, some of the best choices have minimum deposit requirements. Many reputable banks offer excellent high-yield certificates of deposit (CDs). These pay guaranteed yields for anywhere from a few months to five years or more. If researching and selecting individual stocks doesn’t sound like your thing, that’s perfectly fine.
NerdWallet, Inc. is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. Its articles, interactive tools and other content are provided to you for free, as self-help tools and for informational purposes only. NerdWallet does not and cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information in regard to your individual circumstances. Examples are hypothetical, and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific investment issues. Our estimates are based on past market performance, and past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.
Your risk tolerance
It’s a good idea to shift the money you’ll need in the next several years out of stocks and into bonds and cash. This concept is known as asset allocation, and finding the appropriate mix is an important part of investing. There are ways for people at almost every financial level to invest in and make money from real estate.
The stock market offers a wide variety of investment options across different sectors and industries, allowing investors to diversify their portfolios. Money market mutual funds are an investment product, not to be confused with money market accounts, which are bank deposit accounts similar to savings accounts. When you invest in a money market fund, your money buys a collection of high-quality, short-term government, bank or corporate debt. In the dynamic landscape of personal finance, identifying good investment ideas is important for individuals seeking to grow their wealth and secure their financial future. In 2025 before you start investing, it’s crucial to consider economic conditions, technological advancements, and societal shifts that may influence market trends. From traditional stocks and bonds to emerging market opportunities and alternative investments, we’ll help you navigate the modern, often complex world of finance.
Interest rate sensitivity of these investments
Investing in ETFs (Exchange-Traded Funds) or index funds is a safer option for beginners, providing exposure to a broad market with lower risk. If you’re looking to grow your wealth, you can opt for lower-risk investments that pay a modest return, or you can take on more risk and aim for a higher return. There’s typically a trade-off in investing between risk and return. Or you can take a balanced approach, having absolutely safe money investments while still giving yourself the opportunity for long-term growth. There is always the chance that companies will have their credit rating downgraded or run into financial trouble and default on the bonds. To reduce that risk, make sure your fund is made up of high-quality corporate bonds.
Her work has appeared in USA Today, The Washington Post, The Atlantic and Harvard Business Review. Bonds are considered safe, relative to stocks, but not all issuers are the same. The healthcare technology sector encompasses digital health platforms, advanced diagnostics, and personalized medicine. The pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital health solutions while biotechnology continues to innovate. Governments worldwide are committing to net-zero emissions targets. The U.S. Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 continues to funnel billions into clean energy projects, and declining costs of renewable installations make this sector highly attractive.
It also offers stocks, bonds, ETFs, crypto, options, and pretty much anything else you can think of. If you’re completely new to stock investing, you should sign up for our newsletter. It’s completely free and provides an overview of what’s happening in the markets, complete with in-depth analysis, possible trade opportunities, and a look at the stocks making waves on Wall Street. Gold and other precious metals are classic safe-haven assets that protect against inflation and economic uncertainty.
Key things to consider before you start investing
This is great for beginners because most new investors don’t know enough about picking stocks to create a balanced portfolio themselves. In this guide, I’ll break down the ten best investments for beginners in 2025 as I see them right now. This list may change in the future, but for now, it’s a collection of the best ways to get started for someone completely new to investing. Anyone who tells you there is probably wants to sell you something. Crafting the best investment strategy for you depends on your financial situation, risk tolerance, investment horizon, and other details about your life and personality.
How to Invest in Stocks: 5 Steps to Get Started
- This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong.
- Robo-advisors allow you to access diversified investments with minimal fees, and many offer automatic rebalancing to keep your portfolio aligned with your goals.
- The sectors identified here were selected using a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics.
- If you pick the right stocks, you can earn long-term, outsized gains.
It’s key to know your risk tolerance and whether you’ll panic when your investments fall. At all costs, you want to avoid selling an investment when it’s down, if it still has the potential to rise. It can be demoralizing to sell an investment, only to watch it continue to rise even higher. If you’re risk-averse and want a guaranteed income without any chance of loss, an IRA CD is a good option. You have almost no risk at all of not receiving your payout and your principal when the CD matures.
The main goals of investing in bonds, as opposed to stocks, are capital preservation (preventing yourself from losing money) and income generation. A wisely crafted investment portfolio can build tremendous wealth over time. Investing money the right way can help send your kids to college, plan for a comfortable retirement, or meet any other financial goals. Interactive Brokers is one of my favorite brokers, and it offers mutual fund trading.
- NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.
- It’s about as safe an investment as exists, though you’ll still have to watch out for inflation.
- Renewable energy projects are a promising investment due to global efforts to combat climate change.
- Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers.
An alternative is to invest (either exclusively or partially) in exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. The basic idea is that ETFs trade on major exchanges just like stocks, and your money will be invested to achieve a stated objective. The S&P 500 benchmark index has averaged annual returns of 9% to 10% historically, depending on the exact time interval you’re viewing. To put returns like this into perspective, a $10,000 investment compounded at 10% for 30 years would grow to almost $175,000. If you have a 401(k) or similar retirement plan at work, you probably already have money in the stock market.
It’s easy to get started in minutes with our ready-to-go portfolios. For instance, the U.S. economy grew by 2.1% in 2024, but inflation rates stabilized around 3.4%, affecting sectors differently. Shifts in global trade dynamics, such as increased trade agreements in Asia and the continued impact of supply chain disruptions, are shaping investment opportunities.
Publicly traded REIT funds can include dozens of stocks and allow you to buy into many sub-sectors (lodging, apartments, office and many more) in a single fund. They’re a good way for investors to get diversified exposure to real estate without worrying about the headaches of managing the property. After some hard years for REITs amid rising rates, they have performed better recently. Diversification across different asset classes and sectors can help mitigate risk. If you have a longer time horizon, you can afford to take some risks with higher-return but more volatile investments.
These accounts are great for beginners because they don’t require any decisions or maintenance. All you have to do is plop your money into the account and start earning more. Investing in art and collectibles is not best investment opportunities something you hear much about if you’re a beginner investor. It’s easy to think that art investing is only accessible to people who wear top hats and monocles, and that used to be true.
If you want to invest in assets that require more knowledge, you’ll have to develop your understanding of them. For example, if you want to invest in individual stocks, you need a great deal of knowledge about the company, the industry, the products, the competitive landscape, the company’s finances and much more. With a dividend stock, not only can you gain on your investment through long-term market appreciation, but you’ll also earn cash in the short term. Corporations sometimes raise money by issuing bonds to investors, and these can be packaged into bond funds that own bonds issued by potentially hundreds of corporations. Short-term Treasury ETFs are a solid choice for investors who need ready access to cash, since these funds can be sold any day the market is open. If rates fluctuate, the payout on these funds will also fluctuate.
Advanced Manufacturing And Robotics
Platforms like LendingClub and Prosper allow investors to choose loans based on risk level. The stock market remains one of the most popular investment options, offering both growth and income opportunities. Investors can choose from blue-chip stocks, growth stocks, or dividend-paying stocks depending on their financial goals. Investing is a powerful tool for achieving financial growth and stability. As markets evolve, new opportunities emerge, offering investors various ways to grow their wealth.
Exchange-traded funds
So these funds can be a good safe haven for investors and their holdings are backed by the U.S. government. You can browse Bankrate’s list of best high-yield savings accounts for a top rate. Otherwise, you can turn to your local bank or credit union, though you may not get the best rate. A high-yield online savings account pays you interest on your cash balance. And just like a savings account at your brick-and-mortar bank, high-yield online savings accounts are accessible vehicles for your cash.