The global financial markets have experienced some challenging times in recent years. With the onset of war in Ukraine, the price of energy and some commodities and food staples such as wheat rapidly increased. War creates uncertainty in the marketplace, and this conflict’s knock-on effects can still be seen in international trade.
In addition, inflation levels remain high across the globe, which is serving to reduce consumer spending power (coupled with an emerging cost of living crisis), further impacting market activities.
If you are an investor, you will know that it is challenging to look for suitable products to invest in. Gold is generally considered a safe option in turbulent times, but there are few other obvious choices.
Thankfully, this article provides clarity by listing three unique investment options for 2024 that may be suitable for a range of private traders.
- The property market
As a rule, house prices tend to rise over the medium and long term, even if they may fluctuate during a typical year. Investing in this market is a relatively safe way to make a good return; however, one of the key barriers to investment is the purchase cost of properties.
A typical home in America costs around $400,000 which, simply put, is not the kind of money that most people have to invest. However, an ideal way to raise this capital is to search for private lenders for real estate. Such lenders typically offer to raise most of the cost of the home, provided that the funds are paid back between three months and three years (depending on the contractual lending agreement).
If you plan to invest in property, undertake some renovations, then sell the home for a profit, such lenders can be the ideal solution to raise funds quickly. Private lenders can offer quicker turnaround times to produce the loan compared to traditional lending institutions such as banks.
- Invest in art
The art market has traditionally been seen as presenting investment opportunities for only the wealthiest people. When you consider that the works of old masters can raise millions of dollars per piece at auction, this creates a barrier to entry into trading in this area. However, in recent years there have been novel ways to counter this situation and make the art world a viable form of investing for people of all backgrounds.
Companies such as Masterworks overcome the financial challenges of art ownership by offering individuals shares in world-famous artworks. Instead of buying a work of art outright, you buy a small percentage of its ownership. In this way, you can claim a stake in pieces of fine art and either sell your shares to other investors or wait for the piece to sell at auction.
- Volatile investments for short-term gain
Briefly, some investors look to add an element of additional risk to their portfolios by investing in more volatile markets and financial instruments. Such investment products may fluctuate in value more widely and frequently than other options and a prime example is the cryptocurrency market.
The value of such products can change by as much as 10% daily, making this a field of investment that has the potential to offer significant short-term gains. However, it should be noted that volatile investment choices should be considered as part of a well-balanced investment portfolio to help spread the risk of these instruments.
