Is Your Investment Safe?

Interest rates are now so low that it is impossible to get rich by keeping money in a savings account. Would it be worth investing in gold? Read what kind of return the $10,000 invested five years ago would bring.

If you leave it in a bank account, there is little return on money. You must choose the form of investment according to the risk you are willing to take.

Invest in Shares

The money invested in the equity index fund is invested entirely in shares. The price development follows the fund’s return.

When you buy shares, you become a partner in the company you buy shares. As a partner, you get to participate in the company’s profits. You can also take part in any increases in the share price.

Stocks are the best way to invest money. Historically, equities are the asset class that has delivered the best returns over time. Over the past 100 years, equities have delivered an average of about 8-10% return per year. It may sound small, but it gives fantastic results with the interest-on-interest effect over time.

Mutual Funds

The return of mutual funds is divided in proportion between risk-free interest rates and market returns on shares. If the market is doing well, mutual funds that invest more in stocks will perform better than those that take less risk.

Investing in mutual funds is safe and sound. When you put your money in a fund, the fund’s team of experts will invest your money in various securities and assets. The type of securities in which the fund invests your money is determined by the type of fund you choose.

You can choose between, for example, equity funds, fixed-income funds, or index funds. An equity fund invests your money in stocks, a fixed-income fund invests your money in interest-bearing investments, and an index fund invests your money so that your return follows a particular index, and so on. We recommend investing in equity or index funds under 50 because they provide the best return over time.

Housing Investment

It is always a good investment to buy your own home in the long run. It will probably be your most significant investment, so be careful. Do not buy an overpriced home, but make sure you can afford to stay even in tough times. A long-term perspective is a winning strategy in the housing market.

When investing in a home, try not to see it as an investment. Choose a convenient home that you can imagine living in for a long time. The longer you live in your home, the better the investment will usually be.

Rental income is expected to exceed costs, but it isn’t easy to estimate how brightly. In terms of investment, the price change does not tell nearly all about the return on an apartment. In addition to the increase in value, the rental income must be considered, above all, the wear and tear of the apartment and repairs, as well as company compensation.

Saving Account

Having the money in a regular savings account is a boring investment that only gives a few percent or two in today’s situation. However, high-interest accounts offer up to 10% in interest. Still, the deposit guarantee does not cover them, meaning you take a significantly higher risk if you deposit money there. 

Money increases interest (switch to another service) in a savings account, usually less than one percent per year. If $10,000 had been put into a savings account offering an annual interest rate of 0.1% five years ago, the balance would now be $10,050.

Investing in Gold

Five years ago, $10,000 could buy 7.5 ounces or about 233 grams of gold. Now the sale of this amount of gold would yield $8,170, so the investment would be a loss.

Investing in gold is not very common. It is considered a security investment. It is thought that gold will hold its own if something surprising happens in the world. But the precious metal itself produces nothing. It just lies in the vault and incurs costs. It hardly makes sense for anyone to inject all their investment gold.