Alternative investments for the small investor
Alternative investments are steadily growing in popularity.
Partly because they are more colorful way to invest and partly
because they are often simpler than playing equity or bond
markets. Carefully chosen wine, toys, antique rugs, furniture or
film posters for example can often bring you higher returns than
buying shares.
Wine is one of the most popular investments with those who can
afford to invest time in learning the trade and stacking up the
bottles, but it is also a viable option for many ordinary
investors. One way of investing in bottled wine is to go via a
broker. Many brokers are available on the web and wine can be
traded almost as easily as shares.
If you don't fancy your odds with Claret or Bordeaux's, your
attic may hold the answer to making a large amount of money.
Rare and collectable toys have been going for record prices
recently, as the toy market has gained huge popularity over the
last decade or so. Dolls and action figures have been leading
the charge in the vintage toy market and that plastic action man
may fetch an alarming price.
Movie posters memorabilia are the next biggest thing. It is
important to remember though that you need to concentrate on
famous celebrities to see worthwhile returns.
Old carpets are seeing pretty good returns at the moment. The
favorites in this genre have to be Persian rugs which can fetch
incredible prices. When buying Persian rugs beware of fakes
though, make sure your rug comes with a certificate of
authenticity.
Gold may be considered quite a conventional investment but the
returns that are being predicted over the next decade warrant
taking a closer look at the precious metal. While it used to be
extremely difficult and expensive to buy gold, companies have
now realized that gold should be made accessible to the small
investor. It can now be purchased safely and cost effectively
over the internet and stored in some of the safest vaults in the
world.