Where To Put Your Money: The Best Long-Term Investments | I ...

When you think about long-term investments, what are the first options that come to mind? Gold investment? Silver? What about the stock market? Keep in mind that a long-term investment is an investment in something that is made for at least five years, and maybe longer. In finance, these types of investments are less risky, so generally have lower short-term returns.

With all the turbulence in our financial markets today, investors are rethinking their strategies to be safer?with long-term options like investing in gold.

When it comes to these safer investments, what are the top three contenders? The following rise to the top:

1. Gold
2. Stocks
3. CDs and bonds

Buy Stocks

Unlike a gold or precious metal investment, stocks are a long-term option that relies on high performing companies. Examples of long-term high-yield stock investments include stocks in the oil and gas industry, banks like Barclays and others, and big pharmaceutical companies like Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer and even Walmart.

If you choose to invest in stocks, be sure to monitor them regularly. Keep the stocks that perform over a given time period, and sell the ones that don?t. Buy low and sell high still applies. Even in long-term strategies. The right stocks, if chosen well, can even outperform gold as a long-term investment to beat.

Investing in Gold

Gold leads most other investment options as the best long-term investment. Experts agree that today is the optimal time to invest in gold and other precious metals like silver and platinum. Investments in precious metal are safer and more secure than most others?especially in down economic times. If you look at the price of gold in the past ten years, you will see it has not been affected by the ups and downs of the stock market.

You can either buy a gold investment in its physical form or through the purchase ETFs (exchange trade funds.) Today, gold ranks even higher than equities, real estate and traditional savings accounts. And based on many polls, most Americans believe their investment is better allocated to gold or precious metal than any other investment. And the outlook continues to look bright.

Invest in Treasury Bonds and CD Deposits

Investing in bank provided CDs and U.S. treasury bonds are two other ways of improving your long-term investment strategy. The maturity period of both CDs and bonds are usually long-term which adds to their safety. For example, the maturity date on a government issued bond goes from seven years to up to thirty years. The yield on bonds can be from 5% to 7.5%, based on whether they were bought by you first-hand or second-hand.

Fixed CDs from banks have lesser returns, but are still extremely safe.

Stephen Craig is a part of an elite team of writers who have contributed to hundreds of blogs and news sites. Follow him @SCraigSEO.

Source: http://www.needmoney.com/2012/09/where-to-put-your-money-the-best-long-term-investments/

Ashton Eaton