If you want to accumulate wealth, there is one thing that will help you more than anything else: start young. Young people have a unique opportunity to build on the foundation of compound interest and momentum investing. Older people may not be able to make as many gains on their money due to various reasons – higher risk, less time, and less energy.
However, people of all ages can secure their wealth by taking some simple steps to ensure that they start with the right things – such as avoiding debt and investing wisely.
In this article, we will look at 4 tried and tested ways of securing your wealth: protecting it from creditors; maximizing returns while minimizing risk; making sure you save enough, and eventually using your accumulated wealth to satisfy more than just financial goals.
Invest in gold
Gold has been a tried and tested way of securing your wealth for centuries. Traditionally used to create or increase liquidity in times of crisis, the golden, shiny metal is sought after all over the world by investors wanting to preserve their money. Gold can be bought in different ways.
You can purchase gold coins or bullion bars that weigh several kilograms, carried around safely with you, if necessary, or stored at home or in safety deposit boxes at banks. Another option for investing in gold is through Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). This allows you to invest money in gold while still remaining liquid (i.e. able to get your money out when you need it) because ETFs are easily tradable securities that track the movement of an underlying asset like gold prices. They can be purchased from banking institutions or registered stockbrokers.
Real estate
For centuries, investing in property has been a tried and tested way of securing your wealth. Investing in property involves purchasing real estate assets such as land, commercial buildings, or residential homes. Property prices have traditionally been viewed as a good store of value over the long term due to the high demand for these properties.
To preserve their money, investors can choose real estate assets that are income-generating, allowing them to collect rental income every month, which they can also use to meet their monthly expenses or build towards retirement.
Another option is investing in new types of property assets, such as modern office blocks and shopping malls, where owners typically charge rent from business tenants on a daily or monthly basis. This not only brings in a consistent stream of income, but the returns from buying and selling these types of properties are often significantly higher than that of traditional real estate assets.
The stock market
Stocks are an alternative way to invest money in a liquid manner, allowing you access to your funds when needed. In addition, stocks can also be used as a good store of value if they are bought from high-growth companies with fast revenue growth rates. For example, if you bought shares in Apple Inc twenty years ago at $3 per share and kept hold until today, you would now have over $200 per share.
On the other hand, investing in stocks can be difficult for beginners because there are several factors to consider when trying to predict how a company’s share price will change. These include industry conditions, the possibility of companies facing competition within their sector, whether they have good management or are likely to make decisions that are beneficial for shareholders.
Mutual funds
Mutual funds are open-ended investments governed by the Trustee Act 1925 because they pool money from many investors and invest them in securities such as shares, bonds, and money market instruments.
They offer flexibility because you can subscribe to these schemes anytime you like. Furthermore, these schemes usually come with no entry load fees, meaning your initial investment is not reduced by fees before it gets invested into the fund.
You also incur lower annual charges than if you were holding individual securities. However, you would need to pay a management fee, which may be higher for smaller funds.
Although mutual funds are easy to use and offer many benefits, they can also leave your investments open to risk due to their large size. The lack of liquidity in the markets means there could be periods where it will take some time before you can access your investment because it is held in a fund that holds many other assets.
As you can see, these four tried and tested ways to secure your wealth are fairly easy. By following these steps and making informed decisions, you will be able to enjoy a wealthier and happier life in retirement than most people ever dream of – and that’s something worth striving for.