Here Are the 5 Most Popular Investments Now (2024)

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It's an uneasy time to be an investor. The Federal Reserve said earlier this month that it would pause interest rate hikes for the second time since March 2022. While one more hike in 2023 is in the cards, the pause brings hope that long-sticky inflation might be on its way out of the picture — which bodes well for the stock market and investing in general.

In the meantime, everyday Americans are still feeling a squeeze on their finances — and it's influencing their feelings about the economy and their investing behavior.

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Most popular investments in 2023

Personal finance company SoFi released a report recently that takes stock of investor behavior and attitudes after the first half of 2023. The company surveyed roughly 3,500 Americans and found that two-thirds of investors think the country is currently in a recession. A majority say they're lagging in achieving their investing goals too.

However, despite this arguably bleak situation, three-quarters remained bullish on their market outlook.

Here are the top five places investors have put their money through the first half of the year, along with the percentage of SoFi poll respondents who said they're invested in each category:

  1. Stocks (53.7%)
  2. Cryptocurrency (44.1%)
  3. Mutual funds (38.2%)
  4. Bonds (26.6%)
  5. Exchange-traded funds (21.1%)

Interestingly, crypto and ETFs, while two of the most popular investments, are also the two areas where investors feel they lack the most knowledge. Almost one-third of respondents said that they don't know enough about crypto nor ETFs to invest in them. Index funds and real estate also fall into this gap, with about one-quarter of respondents saying they don't know enough to invest in either.

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What different generations of investors worry about

Overall, 56% of investors said they feel that they haven't invested enough at this point in their lives. The group most concerned with falling behind is Gen X, or people ages 43 to 58. Nearly two-thirds of this generation (64%) say they haven't invested enough.

Boomers are the only generation that feels more confident than not in how much they've invested, with just under 43% of 59- to 77-year-olds concerned that they haven't done enough.

The biggest fears that investors have tend to be in the realm of not doing enough, rather than doing too much. About 30% worry about being too conservative and 38% worry about not investing enough, whereas only 14% fret about being too aggressive.

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Here Are the 5 Most Popular Investments Now (2024)

FAQs

Here Are the 5 Most Popular Investments Now? ›

This sort of five percent rule is a yardstick to help investors with diversification and risk management. Using this strategy, no more than 1/20th of an investor's portfolio would be tied to any single security. This protects against material losses should that single company perform poorly or become insolvent.

What is the most popular investment? ›

11 best investments right now
  • Money market funds.
  • Mutual funds.
  • Index Funds.
  • Exchange-traded funds.
  • Stocks.
  • Alternative investments.
  • Cryptocurrencies.
  • Real estate.
Mar 19, 2024

What are the 5 things you should do before investing money? ›

List of 10 Things You Must Do Before You Start Investing
  • Define Your Investment Goals. ...
  • Risk Assessment before Investing. ...
  • Diversified Investment Portfolio Preparation. ...
  • Understand Fees and Expenses. ...
  • Establish an Emergency Fund. ...
  • Set Clear Investment Goals. ...
  • Seek Professional Advice.
1 day ago

What is the 5 rule of investing? ›

This sort of five percent rule is a yardstick to help investors with diversification and risk management. Using this strategy, no more than 1/20th of an investor's portfolio would be tied to any single security. This protects against material losses should that single company perform poorly or become insolvent.

What is the most popular investment strategy? ›

Buy and hold

A buy-and-hold strategy is a classic that's proven itself over and over. With this strategy you do exactly what the name suggests: you buy an investment and then hold it indefinitely. Ideally, you'll never sell the investment, but you should look to own it for at least three to five years.

What is the safest investment with the highest return? ›

Here are the best low-risk investments in April 2024:
  • High-yield savings accounts.
  • Money market funds.
  • Short-term certificates of deposit.
  • Series I savings bonds.
  • Treasury bills, notes, bonds and TIPS.
  • Corporate bonds.
  • Dividend-paying stocks.
  • Preferred stocks.
Apr 1, 2024

What investment brings the highest return? ›

The U.S. stock market is considered to offer the highest investment returns over time. Higher returns, however, come with higher risk. Stock prices typically are more volatile than bond prices. Stock prices over shorter time periods are more volatile than stock prices over longer time periods.

What is the best investment right now? ›

The 10 best long-term investments
  • Bond funds.
  • Dividend stocks.
  • Value stocks.
  • Target-date funds.
  • Real estate.
  • Small-cap stocks.
  • Robo-advisor portfolio.
  • Roth IRA.

What is the number 1 rule investing? ›

Warren Buffett once said, “The first rule of an investment is don't lose [money]. And the second rule of an investment is don't forget the first rule.

What is the 1st thing you need to invest in? ›

You can begin investing with $100 or less. For instance, you could purchase shares or fractional shares of stock, use a robo-advisor to invest based on your goals, contribute to a retirement plan, or invest in a mutual fund. The options are plenty.

What is the only place you should keep your emergency fund money? ›

Bank or credit union account — If you have an account with a bank or credit union—generally considered one of the safest places to put your money—it might make sense to have a dedicated account where you can keep and maintain these funds.

What are the 4 golden rules investing? ›

They are: (1) Use specialist products; (2) Diversify manager research risk; (3) Diversify investment styles; and, (4) Rebalance to asset mix policy. All boringly straightforward and logical.

What is the golden rule of investment? ›

Hold your investments long-term. Like adding to your investment over time, holding your investment long-term is really important to building your wealth, generating more profit. Your money needs years to grow, and with time, it can grow exponentially and generate higher returns.

What stocks are rich buying? ›

3 "Magnificent Seven" Stocks Billionaires Are Selling, and the 1 They Can't Stop Buying
  • Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)
  • Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)
  • Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA)
  • Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) (NASDAQ: GOOG)
  • Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN)
  • Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META)
  • Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA)
Feb 22, 2024

What is the most risky investment strategy? ›

While the product names and descriptions can often change, examples of high-risk investments include: Cryptoassets (also known as cryptos) Mini-bonds (sometimes called high interest return bonds) Land banking.

What is Warren Buffett investing in? ›

Buffett Watch
SymbolPct of portfolio
Chevron CorpCVX5.6%
Citigroup IncC0.9%
Coca-Cola CoKO6.6%
Davita IncDVA1.3%
46 more rows

Where do top 1% invest? ›

They Diversify Their Investments

“Their investment portfolios often encompass stocks, bonds, real estate and alternative investments like private equity. This diversity helps mitigate risk while providing multiple streams for wealth accumulation.”

What is the most profitable type of investment? ›

1. Stocks. Almost everyone should own stocks or stock-based investments like exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds (more on those in a bit). Stocks have consistently proven to be the best way for the average person to build wealth over the long term.

What is the best place to invest $100 000? ›

8 Ways to invest $100K
  1. Max out contributions to retirement accounts. ...
  2. Invest in mutual funds, ETFs, and index funds. ...
  3. Buy dividend stocks. ...
  4. Buy bonds. ...
  5. Consider alternative investments. ...
  6. Invest in real estate. ...
  7. Fund a health savings account (HSA) ...
  8. Park your cash in an interest-bearing savings account.
Mar 20, 2024

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