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Investment opportunities are different ways to put your money to work, and they can include any number of things, such as buying assets and waiting for them to appreciate, or investing in real estate or a business opportunity.

There are varying degrees of risks and potential rewards with each option, but if you’re looking to put your money to work this year, you may want to consider a range of ideas. Every idea needs to be vetted, of course, and it’s important to do your due diligence before investing. Only you can decide which opportunities make sense, given your goals and long-term plans.

1. Bonds

Bonds are a common type of investment, and are actually debt instruments that are often used to diversify or balance the risk profile of a portfolio.

Types:

There are many different types of bonds. The most common, and generally considered to be the lowest-risk category of bonds, might be the U.S. Treasury bonds, typically called treasuries.

The Treasury regularly auctions off both short-term and long-term Treasury bonds and notes. These bonds are, generally, thought to be one of the safest investments on the market, as they’re guaranteed by the U.S. government. The only way for investors to lose their entire investment would be for the U.S. government to become insolvent, which has never occurred.

Governments are not the only entities that issue bonds. Corporations can also raise money by offering corporate bonds. These types of bonds tend to be riskier, but they often pay a higher rate of interest (known as the yield).

Benefits:

Investing in bonds is relatively low-risk compared to assets like stocks. So, it can be a conservative investment strategy, designed to seek a small-but-safe return.

Governments, municipalities, and companies issue bonds to investors who lend them money for a set period of time. In exchange, the issuer pays interest over the life of the loan, and returns the principal when the bond “matures.” Individuals can buy them on bond markets or on exchanges.

Upon maturity, the bond-holder gets their original investment (known as the principal) back in full. In other words, a bond is a loan, with the investor loaning another party money, in exchange for interest payments for a set period of time.

Risks and Challenges:

Bonds generally don’t generate returns like stocks or other assets do. So, investors may want to temper their expectations. Aside from that, bonds also have risks, including that the issuer could default, changes to interest rates can affect their values.

How to Get Started:

Investors can purchase bonds through their brokerage account, or even directly from issuers, in some cases. For example, it’s possible to buy Treasury bonds directly from the U.S. government.

2. Real Estate or REITs

Real estate is the largest asset class in the world, with a market cap well into the hundreds of trillions of dollars. Accordingly, there are a lot of opportunities for investors to add real estate, in some form, to their portfolio.

Types of Real Estate Investments:

When thinking about investing in real estate, residential properties may be one of the first things that comes to mind, such as buying a single family home. But owning property, like a home, can come with an array of responsibilities, liabilities, and expenses. In that way, it’s different from owning a stock or bond.

Generally, real estate investments take the form of actual real estate — such as a home, apartment building, or commercial property — or through shares of REITs, which are real estate investment trusts. These are similar to “real estate ETFs,” in a way.

REITs are popular among passive-income investors, as they tend to have high dividend yields because they are required by law to pass on 90% of their amount of their income to shareholders.

Historically, REITs have often provided better returns than fixed-income assets like bonds, although REITs do tend to be higher-risk investments.

There are many different types of REITs. Some examples of the types of properties that different REITs might specialize in include:

◦   Residential real estate

◦   Data centers

◦   Commercial real estate

◦   Health care

Benefits:

Real estate tends to appreciate over time, but there are many factors that can affect property values. REITs can also allow investors to gain exposure to the real estate world without the hassle and liability of owning physical property, though they do come with risks.

Risks and Challenges:

For people with smaller amounts of capital, investing in physical real estate might not be a realistic or desirable option — first and foremost. Annual property taxes, maintenance and upkeep, and paying back mortgage interest can add to the cost of treating a home as an investment. It’s also worth remembering that residential properties can appreciate or depreciate in value, too.

Other real-estate investment options involve owning multi-family rental properties (like apartment buildings or duplexes), commercial properties like shopping malls, or office buildings. These tend to require large initial investments, but those who own them could potentially see significant returns from rental income. (Naturally, few investments guarantee returns and rental demands and pricing can change over time).

As for REITs, these have certain pros and cons, like other investments, and generally are high-risk investments. But companies can be classified as REITs if they derive at least 75% of their income from the operation, maintenance, or mortgaging of real estate. Additionally, 75% of a REITs assets must also be held in the form of real property or loans directly tied to them. So, there may need to be some research before an investment is made.

How to Get Started:

Shares of a REIT can be purchased and held in a brokerage account, just like a stock or ETF. To buy some, it’s often as simple as looking up a specific REIT’s ticker symbol.

Buying real property is a much more complicated process, and speaking with a real estate agent might be a good place to start — not to mention a financial professional.

3. ETFs and Passive Investing

Passive investing, which refers to exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, and other instruments that track an index and do not have an active manager, have become increasingly popular over the years.

Weighing the merits of passive vs. active investing is an ongoing debate, with strong advocates on both sides.

Types:

Passive investing tends to be lower cost compared with active investing, and over time these strategies tend to do well. Passive investing can include buying ETFs or index funds, or even mutual funds.

An ETF is a security that usually tracks a specific industry or index by investing in a number of stocks or other financial instruments.

ETFs are commonly referred to as one type of passive investing, because most ETFs track an index. Some ETFs are actively managed, but most are not.

These days, there are ETFs for just about everything — no matter your investing goal, interest area, or industry you wish you invest in. Small-cap stocks, large-cap stocks, international stocks, short-term bonds, long-term bonds, corporate bonds, and more.

Benefits:

Some potential advantages of ETFs include lower costs and built-in diversification. Rather than having to pick and choose different stocks, investors can choose shares of a single ETF to buy, gaining some level of ownership in the fund’s underlying assets.

Thus, investing in ETFs could make the process of buying into different investments easier, while potentially increasing portfolio diversification (i.e., investing in distinct types of assets in order to manage risk).

Overall the biggest advantage to passive investing is that it’s hands-off, and as such, relatively cheaper (in terms of saving on fees and commissions) compared to an active approach.

Risks and Challenges:

Specific ETFs or funds may have their own risks — those risks will largely depend on the securities, industries, or other factors contained within each one. But in a more broad sense, if there is a challenge or downside to a passive investment strategy, it may be that there’s the possibility of missing out on appreciation within specific stocks or assets.

That said, passive investing is supposed to be a relatively low-risk approach, but it’s not risk-free.

How to Get Started:

Perhaps the simplest way to start passive investing is to buy ETFs or index funds through your brokerage account. It can be that simple.

4. Automated Investing

Another form of investing involves automated portfolios called robo advisors, as well as target-date mutual funds, which are often used in retirement planning.

Types:

Automated investing often incorporates a “robo-advisor” to handle the heavy lifting. Typically, a robo advisor is an online investment service that provides you with a questionnaire so you can input your preferences: e.g. your financial goals, your personal risk tolerance, and time horizon. Using these parameters, as well as investing best practices, the robo advisor employs a sophisticated algorithm to recommend a portfolio that suits your goals.

These automated portfolios are pre-set, and they can tilt toward an aggressive allocation or a conservative one, or something in between. Typically, these portfolios are built of low-cost exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These online portfolios are designed to rebalance over time, using technology and artificial intelligence to do so.

You can use a robo investing as you would any account — for retirement, as a taxable investment account, or even for your emergency fund — and you typically invest using automatic deposits or contributions.

Some investors may also use a target-date fund to automate their investing. Target-date mutual funds, which are a type of mutual fund often used for retirement planning and college savings, also use technology to automate a certain asset allocation over time.

By starting out with a more aggressive allocation and slowly dialing back as years pass, the fund’s underlying portfolio may be able to deliver growth while minimizing risk. This ready-made type of fund can be appealing to those who have a big goal (like retirement or saving for college), and who don’t want the uncertainty or potential risk of managing their money on their own.

Benefits:

The biggest benefit of automated investing is that it’s, well, automated! It’s a hands-off approach, which means you don’t need to worry about what’s happening with your portfolio on a day to day basis – though it can still be wise to monitor regularly. Again, if you want to take a set-it-and-forget-it approach to investing, this may be worth checking out.

Risks and Challenges:

Some investors may not like handing the reins off to an algorithm or robo-advisor. Accordingly, the approach may oversimplify your portfolio, costing you potential gains (or avoiding losses). And, of course, technology isn’t perfect, so it’s possible that there could be a glitch in a system somewhere, and other cybersecurity risks in the mix.

How to Get Started:

There are numerous robo-advisors on the market — check some of them out, do a bit of research, and choose one. You can also look at specific target-date mutual funds that could be a good fit, and start investing in those.

5. Gold and Silver

Investing in precious metals is another way to put your money to work.

Types:

Gold is one of the most valued commodities. For thousands of years, gold has been prized because it is scarce, difficult to obtain, has many practical uses, and does not rust, tarnish, or erode.

Silver has historically held a secondary role to gold, and today, serves more of an industrial role. For those looking to invest in physical precious metals, silver will be a relatively affordable option.

Benefits:

Gold, silver, and related securities are sometimes considered to be “safe havens,” meaning most investors perceive them as low risk. This asset class tends to perform well during times of crisis (and conversely tends to drop when the economy is going well), but past trends don’t guarantee that gold will perform one way or the other.

Risks and Challenges:

Precious metals are volatile, and the industry itself is volatile as well. Also, for investors who are buying physical precious metals, they may face a challenge in storing them and keeping them safe from thieves. You may need to even get insurance on physical assets, or add them to an existing insurance policy.

How to Get Started:

Buying physical gold or bullion (which comes in coins and bars) isn’t the only way to invest in gold and silver. There are many related securities that allow investors to gain exposure to precious metals. There are ETFs that tend to track the prices of gold and silver, respectively. Other ETFs provide an easy vehicle for investing in gold and silver mining stocks. So, there are some different ways to invest in the field.

Companies that explore for and mine silver and gold tend to see their share prices increase in tandem with prices for the physical metals.

The Takeaway

The investment opportunities described above are just some potential points of entry for investors in 2025. Investors can look to the stock, bond, or crypto markets for new ways to put their money to work, or consider active strategies vs. passive (i.e. index) strategies. They can look at commodities, like precious metals, or automated portfolios.

All these investment opportunities come with their own set of potential risks and rewards. There are no guarantees that choosing X over Y will increase your investment returns. It’s up to each investor to weigh these options, especially in light of current economic trends, such as inflation and rising rates.

Invest in what matters most to you with SoFi Active Invest. In a self-directed account provided by SoFi Securities, you can trade stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, alternative funds, options, and more — all while paying $0 commission on every trade. Other fees may apply. Whether you want to trade after-hours or manage your portfolio using real-time stock insights and analyst ratings, you can invest your way in SoFi's easy-to-use mobile app.

FAQ

What is the most popular thing to invest in right now?

Stocks, bonds, and ETFs tend to be among the most popular investments at any given time, though the specific popularity among those classes can vary wildly.

What are some of the best investment opportunities for beginners?

For beginning investors, investing in ETFs, index funds, or mutual funds may be a simple way to get started. Those assets will give investors exposure to broad parts of the market.

What are the lowest risk investment opportunities?

Generally, the investment with the lowest risks are Treasuries, but even those are not risk-free. Bonds tend to be less risky than stocks, too.

What are the highest risk investment opportunities?

There are many high-risk investments out there, including cryptocurrencies, certain stocks, REITs, and even venture capital all have a relatively high risk compared to, say, Treasuries.