Whether you have gotten a windfall from an inheritance or you got a bonus from work, you may be interested in making this money work for you. Since interest rates are still hovering at historic lows, you will not be earning much on your savings. While you might get a guaranteed amount of money from your investment, it’s unlikely you will earn big money unless you venture into certain profitable industries.
If you might consider testing the market, the biggest questions are: how, where, and in what? Well, the “what” is the most fascinating question to ask and answer.
Here are the eight best industries to invest in:
1. Natural Gas
Natural gas is one of the most reliable, abundant, cheap, and clean forms of energy.
In the United States, the energy sector is going through a renaissance, driven by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, that has produced astronomical amounts of natural gas. This push has led experts to label the U.S. as “Saudi America,” which makes sense because it bypassed the Saudis and will soon compete with Russia for top dog in the sector.
While prices may be plummeting to multi-year lows, there is still plenty of opportunities to strike it rich, especially as more energy firms transition to natural gas.
Billionaire Jerry Jones made headlines for putting nearly $500 million into a transaction to make his company more involved in natural gas. That shows how serious some investors are about the energy commodity.
2. Copper
Copper has gone through a slump in 2019, falling 12 percent. But the best is yet to come for copper investors, mainly because the sector is on the cusp of a deficit. Because new mines are not operating yet, the application process can take a couple of years, and a sluggish economy has hurt demand, global inventories are not what they used to be.
With supplies in the doldrums, copper could regain some of its momentum it had in the last couple of years.
3. Blockchain
In late 2017, Long Island Iced Tea, a micro-cap stock, put blockchain in its name and shares popped nearly 300 percent. Even putting bitcoin, which is often associated with blockchain, can send your stock soaring. But blockchain is the way of the future for the global economy.
Simply defined as a public ledger for transactions, blockchain is increasingly being used by all sorts of businesses, organizations, and consumers. Some might contend that the industry is in a bubble, but that still doesn’t mean you should get in when it pops and buy stocks on the best crypto platform Canada.
Investing in the market right now might seem terrifying. One day, the Dow Jones is up triple digits. The next day, the stock index has plunged triple digits. When you’re paying attention to the market every day, you might second guess your investment strategies. But don’t because you will only confuse matters and risk losing bets that you spent months researching.
4. Defense
In the wake of NATO announcing that countries would increase their defense spending, as President Donald Trump demanded, defense stocks surged. Since nations are spending more on defense and military, then these companies will see their sales spike.
In addition to that, it seems there is always some military conflict that elicits U.S. intervention. Because there is a perpetual battle worldwide, there will be more investments in airplanes, helicopters, missiles, ammunition, machinery, and the list goes on.
5. Food
Sure, you could invest in agriculture and take advantage of the multi-year lows due to the trade war. But then you will be beholden to public policy. The other option is to invest in food companies, particularly in certain niches, which will likely conjure up Beyond Meat as the first brand to think.
It is a good example, though, because it is concentrating on a specific segment of the market. In this case, the vegan market, or, at the very least, people who want to minimize their meat intake.
There are others, though, that provide value, reliability, and dividends, such a Restaurant Brands, Kraft-Heinz, and McDonald’s.
6. Healthcare
Healthcare demands are only intensifying as more of the population gets older. It might not seem like a sexy industry compared to cannabis or blockchain (see below), but it is an important one. As a result, you can park your money in healthcare stocks and wait for that sudden spike, which is quite common, primarily because the government is always making some announcement about investing more in healthcare, which would require more sales from a private healthcare firm.
7. Telecommunications
Suffice it to say, but telecommunications might not be the first industry to come to mind. But there is one reason to mull over telecom: 5G.
With 5G becoming more prevalent and telecom giants worldwide are beginning to put money into the fifth-generation cellular network technology that offers broadband access.
Some people are sounding the alarm about its health effects, but it will not matter. Many people are willing to put their health at risk if it means faster Internet. Just think about how many times consumers put their smartphones up to their ear, something that the instruction manual recommends against doing.
It is extremely limited now, but it won’t be in the next few years.
8. Cannabis
Canada made history recently when it legalized recreational marijuana, following other nations around the world in this sensible policy. The United States has not officially embraced weed, but many states have incrementally legalized the drug.
Why is this important? Well, not just from a civil liberties perspective, but also because it is generating billions of dollars in annual sales. Indeed, the Canadian industry initially got off on the wrong foot, but stocks are rallying as the speculation and malinvestment vanished. Cannabis might be one of the best industries to invest in the future.