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Best investments to make in 2024
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Just about everyone knows that they should be making investments. After all, the more money you invest now and over time, the more financially stable you’re likely to be in the long run.
But if you’re not a market expert, you may not know where to start. After all, there are a wide variety of investment vehicles, each with its own set of pros and cons.
As an investor, your goals are likely to make as much money as possible while managing your risk. But what exactly does that mean from an asset allocation standpoint? What investments should you make in 2024?
Open a CD to earn more from the cash allocation in your portfolio.
Best investments to make in 2024
So, what are the best investments you can make in 2024? Here are a few ideas to consider:
Gold
Gold has a long history as an investment vehicle, and investors often use the asset to bring stability to their portfolios. That’s because gold has two meaningful safe-haven qualities:
- Inflation protection: The price of gold typically rises with inflation. As such, when you add gold to your investment portfolio, it can protect you from losing buying power as prices rise.
- Market volatility protection: When the stock market takes a turn for the worst, investors tend to sell their riskiest assets and move their money to safe havens — like gold — to protect their portfolios. This usually leads to an increase in gold demand, which can cause its price to climb. As a result, the commodity is known for helping to offset losses during bear markets.
Because of these qualities, experts often suggest allocating up to 10 percent of your investment assets to gold.
Learn about your gold investing options now.
Highly diversified ETFs and mutual funds
Individual stocks can be difficult to choose and even more difficult to keep track of. However, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds can give you diversified exposure to the stock market.
In fact, Mark Charnet, founder and CEO of American Prosperity Group, says, “If you don’t know which stocks to buy, a mutual fund has your name on it.”
Charnet suggests that you invest in funds regularly.
“The best way to purchase funds is systematically, every week or ten days, or at least monthly,” says Charnet. “I would look to purchase aggressive tech domestic or foreign tech funds. Since the goal is to purchase weekly or monthly, the decision to purchase should be automatic, consecutive and never-ending.”
No matter which sector you choose to invest in, the key is to invest now and to make contributions regularly. In doing so, you’ll build your wealth while taking advantage of the power of compounding stock market gains.
CDs
A certificate of deposit (CD) may also be a worthwhile investment vehicle, especially considering today’s high returns. When you open a CD, you agree to keep your money in the account for a predetermined period. In exchange, the financial institution you open the account with agrees to pay a fixed rate of return for the entire term of the account.
Many of the best CDs on the market today offer returns of over 5%. And aside from the market volatility protection these accounts come with, they’re also typically FDIC or NCUA-insured for up to $250,000 per depositor, per account, making them safe investment vehicles.
Remember to diversify your investments
Most investors shouldn’t choose just one or two assets to invest in. Instead, a highly diversified portfolio is key. Diversification means that your assets, and therefore your risks, are spread across a wide range of investment vehicles. Some of those investment vehicles should be on the riskier side of the equation while others should be on the safer side.
One rule of thumb for choosing your investment allocation is to use your age as your portfolio’s safety percentage. For example, if you’re 35 years old and you have a $200,000 portfolio, 35% of your money ($70,000) should be allocated to safety plays like gold, CDs and bonds. You should invest the other 65 percent ($130,000) in stocks and other high-growth investments.
As you age, your portfolio’s balance will lean more heavily toward safer investments, offering more protection as you near retirement.
The bottom line
A quality investment portfolio has a strong mix of multiple assets. That way, if one asset experiences losses, the gains across your portfolio make it easier to take the hit. If you’re not sure where to start, consider looking into gold, highly diversified investment funds and CDs. If you’re still unsure, consider reaching out to an investment advisor for personalized advice.
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Long before comic book characters dominated movie screens, actor Christopher Reeve made the world believes in superheroes with the 1978 classic “Superman.”
Reeve died in 2004, nearly a decade after an accident re-shaped his life. “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” is using interviews with family and friends and never-before-seen home videos to explore his real-life heroism.
Reeve started his career on the stage, studying at the prestigious Juilliard School and living with comedian Robin Williams. The pair had a friendship that was “more like a brotherhood,” said Reeve’s son Matthew. Reeve was in awe of Williams’ energy and versatility, Matthew Reeve said, but audiences quickly clued into Reeve’s own star power when he took on the role of the Man of Steel.
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To his children, though, he “was just dad,” Matthew Reeve said. The documentary explores how Matthew Reeve and his sister Alexandra Reeve Givens grew up watching their dad take the stage as Superman. “Super/Man” also reveals their heartbreak over their parents’ breakup and the joy they found when Reeve re-married. He tied the knot with Dana Reeve in 1992, and the pair welcomed another child, William Reeve, later that year.
“Dana was sunshine,” Alexandra Reeve Givens recalled. “She just brought joy with her wherever she was and could find it even in the darkest moments.”
Those dark moments came suddenly, when in 1995, a near-fatal horseback riding accident left Reeve paralyzed from the neck down. The documentary allows viewers to see, for the first time, what went on out of the public’s view. Reeve can be heard talking about how he “ruined (his) life and everybody else’s,” but in a touching moment, old friend Robin Williams is seen visiting him in the hospital.
“Robin showed him ‘Hey, you’re still you,'” Alexandra Reeve Givens said. “‘You still have this foundation of friendship and people around you, who adore you. And you’re going to find those fun moments in life again.'”
That support from friends and family re-ignited Reeve’s legacy of activism. He made appearances at the Democratic National Convention and the 68th Academy Awards in 1996, about a year after the accident. Matthew Reeve said watching his father address his industry peers at the Oscars was “one of (his) most proud moments.”
“It was just a production for him to get out of bed every morning, let alone get across the country and go out in public for the first time,” Matthew Reeve said. “It was a big deal. It was a big deal to him, but it was also a big deal to the entire disability community. We stayed up in London till like three in the morning to watch that live. It’s a fond memory.”
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Reeve also went on to launch what would become the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which is dedicated to advancing research into spiral cord injury and help individuals and families impacted by paralysis. It was his dad’s mission to find a cure, Matthew Reeve said, while his stepmother wanted to focus on improving the lives of paralyzed people and their families. The foundation and Reeve’s platform helped bring unprecedented attention and funding to spinal cord injury research.
Reeve even kept acting and realized his lifelong dream of directing with the 1997 HBO movie “In the Gloaming.” Reeve died in 2004 from heart failure at 52.
“There is a huge amount of great actors and actresses out there, where their filmography might be amazing and what they achieve on a cultural level might be amazing, but have they actually achieved anything really as a human that moves the needle for our society?” said filmmaker Ian Bonhote, who made the documentary with Peter Ettedgui. “And Chris has done both things.”
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” will open in theaters on Friday, Oct. 11.
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