“Reluctant to put more of your hard-earned money aboard the roller coaster known as the stock market? Then it may be a good idea to diversify your retirement savings with other assets, which can reduce your overall risk.”
In this article, Cliff Goldstein suggests three different alternatives that could help you increase the diversification in your investment portfolio. Of course each investment alternative–real estate, peer-to-peer lending, and precious metals–comes with risks that should be carefully considered before making any decisions. Along with the potential risks for each investment, the advantages of each investment alternative are described in this article.
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Teaching Suggestions
You may want to use the information in this blog post and the original article to
- Reinforce why investors should use asset allocation to diversify their investments.
- Point out the reasons why some people choose real estate, peer-to-peer lending, and precious metals in place of or in addition to more traditional investment alternatives.
Discussion Questions
- Pick one of the investment alternatives in this article–real estate, peer-to-peer lending, or precious metals. What are the advantages of the investment you chose? What are the disadvantages of the same investment?
2. Assuming you had $75,000 to invest. Would you use one of the three investment alternatives described in this article or would you prefer a more traditional investment in stocks, bonds, or mutual funds? Explain your answer.
Melissa Hart
Focus on Personal Finance, 7e 