In the past in this blog we have talked about investing in gold. The precious metals market is the most popular when it comes to alternative investments, but it is far from the only option available to investors. Thinking outside the box is important for investors, as is spotting trends that can be capitalised on and turned into profit.
Experts at Tullett Brown feel that one alternative investment set be huge success in 2012 is storage. This may sound bizarre at first, but when you consider the economic climate, it is clear to see why there is fertile ground for storage investment. Everywhere you drive in the UK there seems to be an increasing number of huge self-storage depots popping up. It is a booming sector and one that thrives in times of economic hardship. With the economy in the state it is in at the moment, many thousands of people are looking to downsize their houses, making use of storage facilities when they do. It's a big, big, market.
So how can investors make money out of this? Many companies are now selling storage units to investors. The premise is similar to owning a room in a hotel. The investor owns the space and the storage company rents them out. It is an attractive proposition to an investor in a growing market which provides guaranteed returns of 16% in the first two years.
Another more traditional alternative investment is land. Because the property market has underperformed in recent years, many people are put off investing in land. But land is still the best investment in the world. Quite simply, it is the cornerstone of business; nothing can happen without land. As long as a country has a growing population, there will always be a shortage of houses; the only question is how long it will take to build those homes. Land is always a good investment, towns always expand, they never get smaller and unlike cities they don't build upwards, and so take up more land.
One major benefit of investing in land is that you can also use it for your own benefit. You might own a plot of land that you can turn into an allotment, or perhaps use it as a play area for your children. Seeing a physical return for the investment is a major attraction to landowners.
The government is constantly reviewing planning laws to make it easier to build, housing shortages are a problem that refuse to go away and rigid planning laws are a thorn in the side of the government as a result. Ultimately we are heading towards a relaxation of the green belt laws, which will make land an even more attractive investment.
Land and storage are just two examples of areas that will be fertile when it comes to investment. Keep a clear head when looking to invest, block out the doom and gloom of the media reports on the economy and remember, there is always an area in which you can make money.