Historically, the stock market has provided one of the greatest sources of long-term wealth, with compounded returns averaging 10% per year over the past 100 years.
But investing in stocks is far from the only way to build wealth, with so many other options including building a business, acquiring real estate, investing in precious metals, and more. Depending on your investing preferences and personality, one of these alternative wealth-building strategies may be a better way to create financial security than investing in the stock market.
Should You Invest in Stocks?
Due to inflation, the real rate of return on investments in lower than 10%. But even taking that into account, the average investor still earns less than the rate of return on the market, sometimes as much as 3% less.
Many investors see lower returns due to investing poorly, trading too frequently, using high-cost brokers, the sales load on mutual funds, and other fees and errors that cut into their profits.
Note
Investors who have seen the best returns are the ones who:
- Keep stock for the long term
- Hold shares in a low-cost index
- Reinvest their dividends
- Take advantage of tax rules
- Let compounding do the heavy lifting
Keeping an eye on each of these factors requires time, effort, and knowledge, which can be off-putting to some investors. If you are unsure whether you should invest in stocks or look for alternatives, be honest about your interests, personality, and willingness to invest not only your money but your time and attention.
Investing in stocks might not be the best choice for you if:
- You feel panicked when stock prices fall rather than seeing an opportunity.
- You lose sleep and worry a lot about owning stocks.
- You think the stock market is like a casino.
- You think a stock split is a bonus.
- You can't read an income statement, balance sheet, or annual report.
- You don't know what the earnings yield is.
- You don't understand the price-to-earnings ratio.
- You don't know what makes a good broker or what different fees are paying for.
Luckily, you can still invest your money in other asset types to build wealth, reduce your risk, and diversify your portfolio.
Popular Alternatives to Investing in Stock
If you want to earn a good after-tax, net-of-inflation return without investing in stocks, there are popular and reasonable alternatives.
Business ownership
Running a profitable business, including a franchise of a national chain, requires a specific skill set. You'll need a long-term business strategy to invest, expand, grow your profits, vet employees, and handle all the details that come with business ownership.
A business offers a reliable form of collateral if you ever need to take out a loan. At the end of your working years, a well-run business can either be sold for profit or passed down to the next generation.
Real estate
Many investors gravitate toward buying and managing real estate investments because they are tangible and can offer a relatively passive form of income. Owning real estate also offers access to equity, which you can leverage to buy additional properties or improve your existing ones.
Many sub-specialties exist for those who invest in real estate, including individual rental houses, apartment buildings, storage units, car washes, office buildings, industrial buildings, and even real estate options or tax lien certificates.
Precious metals
Silver and gold, along with gemstones and other precious metals, are generally physical items that you own. Investors can acquire coins, gems, or gold bullion, and large amounts should be stored somewhere secure such as a bank or brokerage firm.
Many investors buy precious metals or gems with the idea that they never lose their value. While these items are consistently valuable, they are subject to supply and demand, just like any other market commodity.
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash or cash equivalents, such as money market accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs), are generally very secure investments that offer reliable and predictable interest rates. CDs can be accessed at set intervals, depending on the type of account you have. Money market accounts often come with a debit card and can be accessed quickly. Both these types of investments are federally insured.
Downsides to Alternative Investments
Alternative investments may feel safer than investing in the stock market. However, they do come with drawbacks.
- Inflation. Cash equivalents like CDs or money market accounts earn reliable interest. However, the rate of interest they earn may not keep pace with inflation.
- Liquidity. You can buy and sell public stock at a moment's notice because the market has so many willing buyers and sellers. But if you invest your money into gemstones, precious metals, a business, or real estate, it would require more time to cash out your investment in the event you needed the money quickly.
- Market unpredictability. Just like the stock market, it is possible for alternative investments to be worth less than what you paid for them. It is possible for the value of gold or silver to go down or for your real estate investments to end up underwater or in foreclosure.
No matter what type of investment you choose to make, it is important to diversify your assets so that market fluctuations do not impact all of your wealth in the same way at the same time.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can you make money without investments?
Investments can help you grow wealth and enjoy passive income, but they aren't the only sources of income. The most common way to make money is to work for wages. However, if you want to have sources of income other than Social Security benefits after you retire from work, then you will likely need to use some type of investments (though not necessarily stock investments).
How do you become an investor without money?
If you want to have your pick of investments, then you'll likely need to have money to make those investments. However, if you're flexible, then you may have some low-cost investment options. For example, some companies offer employee stock options, and these benefits packages allow you to become an investor in the business just by working for it.
