8 Best Investments for 2025

A wisely crafted investment portfolio can build tremendous wealth over time. You can then use it for retirement, to send your kids to college, or for any other financial goals.

While it's common knowledge that investing is a good move, there's also the question of what you should invest in. With that in mind, we're going to take a closer look at some of the most popular investment vehicles.

To be clear, we aren't going to discuss specific investment ideas here. If that's what you're looking for, we have tons of great content, such as our list of some top stocks to buy right now.

Having said that, the topic of what types of investments to choose is still a very important discussion for new investors. Our objective in this article is to discuss the pros and cons of the different types of investments you can choose, and where they might fit into your ideal investment strategy.

Finally, we'll look at some things you probably shouldn't invest in. This can be just as important as finding great investments.

What to invest in

What to invest in right now

One of the biggest reasons is that many people don't know what they can invest in or how to get started. So, here are some of the most common ways to invest money.

1. Stocks

Let's be perfectly clear. Almost everyone should own stocks or stock-based investments like exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and mutual funds (more on those in a bit).

If you have a 401(k) or similar retirement plan at work, you probably already have money in the stock market. There's a good reason for this. Stocks have consistently proven to be the best way for the average person to build wealth over the long term.

U.S. stocks have delivered better returns than bonds, savings accounts, precious metals, and most other investment types over long periods. Stocks have outperformed most investment classes over almost every 10-year period in the past century. The S&P 500 benchmark index has averaged annual returns of 9% to 10% historically, depending on the exact time interval you're viewing.

To put returns like this into perspective, a $10,000 investment compounded at 10% for 30 years would grow to almost $175,000.

There are thousands of publicly traded companies you can invest in. You're probably quite familiar with many of them. As the companies you invest in grow bigger and more profitable, you own part of a more valuable business.

As legendary investor Warren Buffett puts it, investing in U.S. stocks is a bet on American business, and this has been an excellent bet for more than two centuries.

2. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)

If you're worried about researching and selecting individual stocks, an alternative is to invest (either exclusively or partially) in ETFs and/or mutual funds. For example, if you invest in an S&P 500 index fund, your money will be spread out among the 500 companies that make up the index.

3. Mutual funds

Mutual funds are similar to ETFs. They pool investors' money and use it to accumulate a portfolio of stocks or other investments. The biggest difference is that ETFs trade on major stock exchanges, and you can buy shares whenever the stock market is open. Mutual funds price their shares only once a day and aren't nearly as liquid.

4. Bonds

Over the long term, growing wealth is the most important step. But once you've built that wealth and gotten closer to retirement age, bonds -- which are loans to a company or government -- can help you stay wealthy. There are three main kinds of bonds:

• Corporate bonds issued by companies
• Municipal bonds issued by state and local governments
• Treasury notes, bonds, and bills issued by the U.S. government

For most investors, the best way to go is to buy ETFs and mutual funds that invest in bonds on your behalf.

The main goals of investing in bonds, as opposed to stocks, are capital preservation (preventing yourself from losing money) and income generation.

5. High-yield savings accounts

Savings accounts offered by branch-based banks are notorious for paying minuscule interest rates.

On the other hand, some excellent banks, primarily based online, offer very competitive rates -- to the point that they can be considered investment-worthy in many cases. In July 2025, savings account interest rates in the 3%-4% range were still readily available if you did a little research.

6. Certificates of deposit (CDs)

Many reputable banks offer excellent high-yield certificates of deposit (CDs). These pay guaranteed yields for anywhere from a few months to five years or more.

Unlike savings accounts, CDs allow you to lock in a specific yield for a set period. This can be an especially valuable feature when interest rates are relatively high, and you want predictable returns.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) insures CDs and savings accounts up to $250,000 per person per bank to protect you against bank failure.

7. Real estate

Like owning great companies, owning real estate can be a wonderful way to build wealth. Plus, in most recessionary periods throughout history, commercial real estate has performed rather well. It's often viewed as a safer, more stable investment than stocks.

There are ways for people at almost every financial level to invest in and make money from real estate. The most obvious is to buy a rental property, which can be a great way to build wealth and create an income stream, but it isn't the best fit for everyone.

Fortunately, there are alternative ways to invest in real estate. Many, such as real estate investment trusts (REITs), are much more passive than actually becoming a landlord.

Publicly traded REITs are the most accessible way to invest in real estate. REITs trade on stock market exchanges just like other public companies. REITs can be especially great for income since they are required to pay out at least 90% of taxable income as dividends.

8. Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies are a relatively new form of investment vehicle. Popular examples include Bitcoin (BTC -1.22%) and Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH). If you have knowledge about cryptocurrencies, you can incorporate them into a diversified investment portfolio.

Considerations

Factors to consider

No investment approach works for everyone. So, to figure out the best way for you to invest your hard-earned money, here are some things to think about:

Your risk tolerance

Stocks are not risk-free investments by any definition. Even the most stable companies' stocks can fluctuate dramatically over short periods of time. Over the past 50 years, the S&P 500 has declined by as much as 37% in a single year and has risen by as much as 38%.

On the other hand, bonds and other fixed-income investments don't have as much long-term return potential as stocks. But they make up for it with steady income generation and a lack of volatility.

Time horizon

If you have a kid heading off to college in a year or two, or if you're retiring in a few years, your goal should no longer be maximizing growth. It should be protecting your capital.

It's a good idea to shift the money you'll need in the next several years out of stocks and into bonds and cash. This concept is known as asset allocation, and finding the appropriate mix is an important part of investing.

Investment amount

If you have $500 to invest, you can certainly still get started. However, your approach will likely be significantly different and your options somewhat limited compared to an investor with $100,000 to get started.

For example, if you want to buy a rental property, you'll need enough money to make a down payment. If you want to put money in a high-yield CD, some of the best choices have minimum investment requirements.

Knowledge level

Investing in individual stocks can be a great way to build wealth -- if you have the time and knowledge to do it right. If you don't, there's absolutely nothing wrong with investing in ETFs or mutual funds to get hands-off exposure to the stock market.

Account types

What type of investment account should you use?

Just as owning the right investments will help you reach your financial goals, where you invest can be just as important. Many people, especially newer investors, don't consider the tax consequences of their investments, which can leave them short of their financial goals.

Simply put, a little tax planning can go a long way. Here are some examples of different kinds of accounts you may want to use on your investing journey:

The biggest takeaway here is that you should choose the appropriate kind of account based on why you're investing. For instance:

• 401(k): for employed retirement savers
• SEP IRA/Solo 401(k): for self-employed retirement savers
• Traditional IRA: for retirement savers
• Roth IRA: for retirement savers
• Taxable brokerage: for savers with additional cash to invest beyond retirement/college savings account needs or limits
• Coverdell Education Savings Account: for college savers
• 529 College Savings: for college savers

Related investing topics

So, what should I invest in?

To be perfectly clear, every investor is different, and no one pathway works for everyone. However, the best answer for most people is a portfolio that combines stocks (or stock-based ETFs and mutual funds) and fixed-income investments like bonds and CDs.

One popular asset allocation guideline financial planners use, known as the Rule of 110, is to subtract your age from 110 to determine the approximate percentage of your portfolio that should be in stocks. For example, according to this rule, a 40-year-old should have roughly 70% of their money invested in stocks and stock-based funds.

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