Understanding the wide world of investments is the first step toward making confident financial decisions. From traditional options like stocks, bonds, and ETFs to alternatives like gold, crypto, and REITs, each investment type offers unique opportunities and risks. Whether you're planning for retirement, exploring automated strategies with robo-advisors, or learning how to choose a financial advisor, a solid grasp of the basics empowers smarter investing.
Explore some of our more popular guides to help you on your investing journey.
Investing basics—guides and where to start investing
Investors who start early might be more likely to catch that proverbial "early bird worm", and grow their earnings enough to lead a comfortable lifestyle. If you’re ready to invest, the good news is that getting started is simpler and less expensive than ever. And with the right guidance, you could be well on your way to catching that worm.
Our top pick for beginner investing: Acorns
For many of us, investing can seem overly complicated and somewhat intimidating if you don’t know the ins and outs. Acorns intend to simplify and demystify this process through a revolutionary mobile app. The Acorns app was created to remove any mental roadblocks or anxiety about becoming a regular investor. Using Modern Portfolio Theory, it recommends optimized portfolios and keeps them on track with automatic rebalancing and dividend reinvestment. Here's our Acorns review.
Robo Advisors—guides and where to start investing
Robo-advisors are specialized platforms that rely on technology and algorithms to help automate your investments. They’re generally a cheaper option than an actively-managed, full-service portfolio. Certain platforms even charge no management fees. But with that low cost comes little to no human interaction. Those seeking personalized service and investing advice from a person might not find what they’re looking for with a robo-advisor.
Our top pick for robo advisor: Betterment
Betterment is often seen as a pioneer in the robo-advising space. And it is one of the most helpful for retirees due to its range of portfolio options. All you have to do is outline your investing goals and level of risk tolerance, and Betterment invests in various portfolios of ETFs and bonds to match those goals. It has some of the greatest portfolio variety out of all robo advisors, and it supports IRA accounts as well.
Financial Advisors—guides and where to start investing
Our top pick for financial advisor: Domain Money
Domain Money empowers tech-savvy millennials to take control of their finances with short-term guidance from a Certified Financial Planner (CFP). Clients receive a detailed financial report and a one-hour session to address money questions, with engagements lasting one, two, or six months and optional annual updates for a fee. Offering less ongoing support than traditional advisors, Domain Money focuses on providing the key tools needed to kickstart financial success.
Alternative investments—guides and where to start investing
Looking to diversify your portfolio beyond traditional stocks and bonds? Alternative investments offer unique opportunities that can add depth and resilience to your financial strategy. From income-generating REITs to the timeless value of gold, and the growing allure of fine wine and art, these assets could help broaden your horizons and balance risk. With the right insights, you’ll be better prepared to explore the world of alternatives.
Discover our comprehensive guides to help you navigate the diverse landscape of alternative investing.
Our top pick for investing in alternative investments: Yieldstreet
Yieldstreet is one of the best alternative investments because of the variety it offers. It has a variety of individual deals and funds covering assets like cryptocurrency, artwork, private equity, real estate and structured notes. Plus, its flagship Prism Fund provides exposure to a variety of assets and has a $2,500 minimum investment requirement.
REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts)—guides and where to start investing
REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) allow individuals to invest in income-generating real estate without buying property directly, offering the potential for steady dividends and long-term capital appreciation.
Wise Insight—public vs private REITs
Shares of public REITS may be available on stock exchanges, or you could opt to invest in a REIT mutual fund or ETF. Private REITs are also available, but you may need to be an accredited investor or meet certain requirements to invest in one.
Our top pick for investing in REITs: Arrived
Arrived, formerly called Arrived Homes, is a real estate crowdfunding company that lets you invest in shares of rental properties. The company began in 2019 and is quickly making a name for itself as a serious, up-and-coming investment platform. And unlike many companies that focus on commercial real estate, Arrived provides access to residential real estate properties and vacation rentals. According to Arrived founder Ryan Frazier, the company's goal is to “make the wealth building potential of owning rental homes more accessible. We believe we can do that by simplifying the process, and lowering the cost to get started.”
Gold—guides and where to start investing
Gold is a precious metal known for its enduring value, often used by investors as a hedge against inflation and market volatility.
Wise Insight—there are many ways to invest in gold
You can invest in gold bars or—invest in gold through ETFs, funds, mining stocks, futures contracts, or royalty companies for diverse and flexible options.
Our top pick for investing in gold: Thor Metals Group
You can take advantage of the long-term market potential of this precious metal by starting a Precious Metals IRA with help from Thor Metals. Enabling investors to include gold or silver in their portfolio, a Precious Metals IRA can be a secure and stable investment option, enhancing diversification and safeguarding your cash value against economic uncertainties.
Wine and art—guides and where to start investing
Investing in art and wine allows individuals to diversify their portfolios with tangible assets that have the potential for significant appreciation over time. Fine art and collectible wines are considered alternative investments, often holding intrinsic value and serving as a hedge against market volatility.
Our top pick for investing in art: Masterworks
Masterworks is an investment platform where you can buy fractional shares of artworks by upcoming and world-renowned artists. The company offers a straightforward investment product that’s easy to understand and facilitates investing in the kinds of art previously available only to extremely wealthy investors.According to Masterworks, contemporary art has outpaced the S&P 500 over the last 25 years and will continue to do so.
Our top pick for investing in wine: Vinovest
If you’re looking to diversify your portfolio by investing in wine without spending a fortune, Vinovest offers a compelling option. The platform is an excellent choice for those who want to invest in alternative assets like wine but don't want to deal with the hassle of researching, purchasing, storing, and insuring it themselves. Investors can get started in minutes, by creating an account on Vinovest's website. The platform offers a range of investment options, including a fully-managed portfolio or a self-managed portfolio.
Cryptocurrency—guides and where to start investing
Cryptocurrencies are digital currencies that exist on a specific network, or blockchain. Rather than a bank acting as a middle-man, investors can exchange cryptocurrency directly over the internet. While popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin saw record-high values in 2024, cryptocurrency remains a largely speculative investment.
Wise Insight—Know before you invest in crypto
The crypto market is also volatile and investors face regulatory uncertainties and security concerns. There was also the notable recent bankruptcy of a major cryptocurrency company, FTX. It’s best to do your research before you invest.
Our pick for investing in crypto: eToro
If you want to manage all your stock, ETF and crypto in one place, eToro is your best choice. This online broker has always been a popular choice for stock trading. And now, eToro supports crypto trading for over 40 popular coins. What's nice is that eToro has a simple crypto trading interface for beginners as well as a crypto exchange interface with more advanced trading tools. You can also create a virtual portfolio to test your crypto trading skills before investing.
Retirement—guides and where to start investing
Retirement plans aren’t a type of investment, but they are a popular vehicle for investing money. Retirement investing involves allocating funds into various financial instruments, such as stocks, bonds, and retirement accounts like 401(k)s or IRAs, to build a nest egg for the future. These investments offer the potential for long-term growth, tax advantages, and compound interest to help individuals achieve financial security in their later years.
Our pick for IRAs: Robinhood
Robinhood offers two types of retirement accounts: Traditional IRA and Roth IRA. You can open one of each, even if you already have an IRA at another financial institution or participate in a workplace retirement plan, like a 401(k). With zero commission fees and no minimum investment requirements, Robinhood makes it easy to start investing for retirement — but there’s even more to explore when it comes to maximizing your retirement savings.
Managing Money—guides and where to start investing
Our pick for net worth trackers: Empower
Link your accounts to this powerful online platform, and Empower will give you a complete view of your net worth. Simply link your credit cards, mortgage, loans, and your investing, retirement, and bank accounts. Then Empower's net worth tracker does the rest. This tool allows you to consolidate all of your accounts in one place so you can measure your progress over time. Seeing firsthand how your accounts look — whether on your desktop or mobile device — can help you pivot your budget to focus on your goals and improve your net worth. You can even track your cryptocurrency investments with their new crypto BETA tracker.
How do investments work?
Investing your money involves purchasing a particular asset in the hopes that the value of that asset will increase over time. If an asset’s value increases and the investor opts to sell that asset, the resulting gain is called a capital gain.
But assets don’t always increase in value; sometimes they decrease too. Increases and decreases can depend on market conditions at the time you invest or sell an asset, company performance, and other factors. In general, investments that are considered higher risk offer the potential for higher returns, while lower risk investments typically provide lower returns.
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Test your investment knowledge
What's the average annual return of the S&P 500, over the last century?
Know the risks
No matter what you choose to invest in, your invested money is subject to risk. And certain investments, like cryptocurrency, may be riskier than others. Market ebbs and flows are normal.
In a bear market, the stock market decreases 20% or more from recent highs. In this environment, your stocks might make less profit and that may lead to more caution with other buys.
During a bull market, when the stock market is rising, your picks will likely be more profitable and you may be more eager to select new ones.
While you could mitigate some of your risks by diversifying your portfolio, you’ll never be able to eliminate risk completely, unless you put your money in a savings account instead. Despite the risks, investing remains one of the best ways to grow your wealth.
What basic investment terms should I know?
Part of learning about investing involves understanding key investment terms. Common terms include:
- Ask. The price that someone looking to sell stock wants to fetch.
- Bid. The price that someone is willing to pay for stock.
- Buy. To acquire shares and thereby take a position in a company.
- Sell. To get rid of shares whether because you’ve reached your goal or to prevent losses.
- Bull market. Market conditions in which investors expect prices to rise.
- Bear market. Market conditions in which investors expect prices to fall.
- Dividend. A portion of a company’s earnings paid to shareholders.
- Blue-chip stocks. Shares of large and well-recognized companies that have a long history of solid financial performance.
- Hedge fund: A hedge fund is composed of multiple investors' money, which is invested in different commodities in the hopes of making a profit. Hedge funds require relatively high minimums, so the investors are typically institutions or wealthy individuals.
- Earning per share. A company’s net profit divided by the number of outstanding common shares.
- Mutual fund. A collection of investments — stocks, bonds, commodities, and more — bundled together and held in common by a group of investors.
For more, see our full list of investing terms everyone should know.
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Jess is a financial writer who's been creating digital content since 2009. Before transitioning to full-time freelance writing, she was an editor at Investopedia and The Balance. Her work has been published on NextAdvisor by Time, Bankrate, Investopedia, and more. In her spare time, she enjoys gardening, spending time with family, and exploring the outdoors.
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