The stock market is the right place to start
Many investors’ retirement accounts are focused on stocks, with young investors typically exposed to growth stocks in target dated funds, and older investors with greater bond exposure.
While 401K programs and similar offerings from employers are a great start, many financial experts believe that millennials will need between $3 million and $4 million to retire comfortably, given current inflation rates.
For those looking to grow their wealth on the stock market, finding a great brokerage platform is the first step in setting up an investment account for retirement savings.
Stock picking is also notoriously risky, but there are ways to make safer bets and benefit from the wisdom of experts.
For example, platforms like Moby — founded by former hedge fund analysts — provide stock research and insights tailored for everyday investors.
Over the past four years, Moby’s stock picks have outperformed the S&P 500 by an average of 11.95%, helping more than 5 million users identify promising investments before they take off. Plus, they offer a 30-day money back guarantee.
Don’t forget about alternative assets
While the stock market is a natural place to invest one’s capital, there are plenty of other assets that act as inflation hedges and are worth your consideration. Charlie Munger is among the investors who have been known to spread their wealth over various asset classes, and in different markets.
A quick look at his holdings in his other company, Daily Journal, shows some exposure to foreign assets. And he’s talked about diversification as well for his own personal journey (so long as it’s not “deworseification”), something you may want to consider.
For instance, you may not think of fine art as the most the accessible alternative asset. Not everyone has the time — or cash — to sit an auction and wave a paddle for the highest bid.
However fine art tends to be a solid investment over time as its value remains generally more stable compared to market fluctuations.
If you want to dip your toes into the art world, Masterworks is a top platform for retail and accredited investors to invest in pieces of fine art that may otherwise be unattainable, due to the astronomical prices these pieces are sell at.
Masterworks gives you the ability to invest in fractional shares of blue-chip contemporary art — that means paintings by artists like Banksy, Picasso and Basquiat — allowing investors to own a truly diversified portfolio of alternative assets.
Once you join the Masterworks community of more than 280,000 members, you can tap into a whole lot of data and insights and use them to guide you in choosing the art you want to put your money into.
See important Regulation A disclosures at Masterworks.com/cd
Real estate is another well-known tool for diversifying your portfolio.
For those looking to grow their real estate portfolio, as Munger and other institutional investors have done, you can invest in income-generating properties with Homeshares.
Homeshares allows accredited investors to gain direct exposure to hundreds of owner-occupied homes in top U.S. cities through their U.S. Home Equity Fund — without the headaches of buying, owning, or managing property.
The fund focuses on homes with substantial equity, utilizing Home Equity Agreements (HEAs) to help homeowners access liquidity without incurring debt or additional interest payments. This approach provides an effective, hands-off way to invest in high-quality residential properties, along with the added advantage of diversification across various regional markets – all with a minimum investment of $25,000.
With risk-adjusted internal returns ranging from 12% to 18%, the U.S. Home Equity Fund offers accredited investors a low-maintenance alternative to traditional property ownership.
Another great inflation hedge over time has been gold. While you can always buy gold coins directly from a bouillon dealer, opening up a Gold IRA may be a better long-term option. This individual retirement account allows you to invest in gold and benefit from the tax advantages of an IRA.
Opting for a gold IRA gives you the opportunity to hedge against market volatility by allowing you to invest directly in physical precious metals rather than stocks and bonds.
If you’d like to convert an existing IRA into a gold IRA, companies typically offer 100% free rollover. Others might offer free gold, silver or other metals up to a certain amount when you make a qualifying purchase.
You can check out our top picks for industry-leading companies offering gold IRAs.
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"The beauty of it is: you only have to get rich once. You don't have to climb this mountain four times. You just have to do it once," said Munger. A proven savings vehicles can help you ride out market uncertainty and make sure your retirement nest egg is secure.