The last few years have posed some challenges for investors around the world. In 2020, humankind experienced a truly global pandemic, the like of which had not been seen since the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. The covid-19 pandemic created massive changes in business practice, with millions of workers needing to self-isolate.
In addition, there was the need for immense sections of the workforce to adopt hybrid or remote models of working whilst restrictions on movement were in place. This led to a high degree of uncertainty amongst a range of businesses and resulted in high-street chains of shops suffering significant downturns in revenue that then caused the closure of some well-established brands.
Today, the war in Ukraine has increased the volatility of certain commodities such as energy supplies and some food items. Clearly, it is a difficult time for many investors. However, in 2022 there are a range of other investment opportunities to consider that go above standard stock and shares.
This article presents three investment options to consider in 2022.
Artwork
Investing in artwork is quickly becoming a viable strategy for many investors who seek to diversify their long-term portfolios. The market for artwork has been shown to offer significant returns on investment over the long term. However, it must be noted that a degree of specialist knowledge in the art world (or the advice of an expert in the field) is required before investment takes place. This is because the biggest returns can come from purchasing work that is from upcoming artists who go on to have long and successful careers. Sites such as artfinder.com provide up-to-date listings of artists who are breaking into the mainstream art world, along with the prices of their latest works.
NFTs
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) represent an exciting investment opportunity for those who are willing to risk the high volatility of the NFT market in exchange for potentially lucrative short-term gains. NFTs such as digital art and music are increasingly being created and traded at sites such as okx.com. Their values can fluctuate significantly in the space of 24 hours, so investors need to be knowledgeable about the NFT market to make informed investment decisions whilst regularly checking on the values of such assets. It can also help to use trading software that sets clear buy and sell values to help automate the process of trading in this type of stock.
Index funds
Index funds are a much more traditional form of investment compared to the two previous options. They work by offering a return to the investor based on the overall performance of a certain set of shares or market. For example, the Fortune 500 share index is commonly used as an investment option as it plots the average performance of the companies in this marketplace.
As with the market for artwork, index funds are generally considered to be suitable for longer-term investments and can offer a rate of return that outstrips savings accounts, whilst being characterized by their relatively low levels of volatility. In short, index funds present a good option for investors who seek to make reasonable long-term returns on their capital with the added security of having the return characterized by market performance rather than one specific commodity or company.
