If you have $100 available to invest, there are many ways to make it work for you. I won't say you can turn $100 into $1 million (although rare opportunities do exist), but $100 invested today can grow greatly over many years. If you have $100 to invest on a regular basis -- say, monthly -- it can compound over time and be a strong component of a millionaire-maker portfolio.
Here are 10 ideas to get you started.
1. Track the market
One of the most popular ways to grow your money while minimizing risk is to invest in an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks an index like the S&P 500. This kind of investment grows along with the market. Historically, the market has grown over time and has been an incredible wealth generator for patient investors, generating about 13% in annualized returns over the past 10 years.
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2. Track a growth index
An S&P 500 ETF is the standard, safe way to grow your money, but you can achieve even better results with an ETF that tracks a growth index, like the Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF. It's slightly riskier than the regular S&P 500 index since it invests in fewer stocks and more growth-oriented ones, but it has also outperformed it, with 15% in annualized 10-year gains.
3. Choose a growth stock
If your $100 is part of a larger portfolio where you're well diversified, you might want to take your risk level up a notch and find an excellent growth stock to park your money. When you own a group of different kinds of stocks that each offer something different, you can feel safer investing in higher-risk growth stocks like SoFi Technologies or Axon Enterprises.
4. Choose a winner
If you only have $100 to invest, you might want to choose a no-brainer winning stock like Amazon or Berkshire Hathaway. A share of each of those costs more than $100 today, so you'd have to buy a fractional share. Walmart is a great choice that costs just under $100 right now.
5. Get passive income
Many investors, especially retirees, choose dividend stocks to provide them with passive income. You can find some top stocks with high dividend yields for under $100, like Realty Income and Coca-Cola.
6. Get disruptive
If your $100 is on top of a robust portfolio of stocks that are already working for you, and you can afford to lose it, you might want to try a great tech disruptor that could be a multibagger. Consider high-risk, high-reward stocks like Lemonade or Pagaya Technologies.
7. Play it safe
If your $100 means a lot to you today and you want it to grow more securely, choose a safe stock like Visa or Prudential Financial. These are socks with well-established, solid businesses that are likely to stick around and reward investors a long while. Plus, like these two, they usually pay dividends.
8. Find an IPO
If your $100 is on top of a well-diversified portfolio, another way to play it is to find an early-stage opportunity that could lead to big rewards. Initial public offering (IPO) activity has scaled back over the past few years as interest rates remain high and the economy is pressured, but there are always some new opportunities. Two companies that recently went public are Chime Financial and Amrize.
9. Bet on a turnaround
Turnaround stocks offer tremendous opportunities for gains, but they're only for risk-tolerant investors. Many stocks are down in the dumps today, but they have huge potential and popular products. Names like PayPal and Nike are possible turnaround stories.
10. Try AI
Finally, artificial intelligence (AI) is the biggest buzzword in the market today. It's not easy to find a super AI stock that isn't incredibly risky for under $100, so your best bet would be to find an ETF that's focused on AI. The iShares Global Tech ETF and the Global X Robotics and Artificial Intelligence ETF are two choices that give you exposure to many AI stocks, and each costs less than $100.
