There I’ve said it: mutual funds are not the best investments.  This comes from me who was big into mutual funds just six short years ago.  Now, my stance has not changed because of losing money in the market:  I made money and lost some too.  No, the reason I say this is because I have found some other ways to make money work harder and better for you.  Let me share a few of them here.

Real estate investing is the first one on the list because it is something that everyone needs.  Whether it be a home or some office space, people everywhere need it.  Also, real estate tends to be less volatile than stock markets and have had steady returns over the years.  I also like the idea of control over my investment – if I want to make more money, I can raise rents.

The second option I like is starting a business.  Though this option may require a little more dedication, education, and information than a mutual fund, the returns can be better.  Take for example a website that I setup in June and have done nothing to it since.  My $10 investment has returned $180 a 1800% return over the six months.  What did my mutual funds make?  1.5%.

The third option is one that I don’t recommend that everyone try, and that you only invest a little money.  This investment would be a high yield investment program (HYIP).  Now these investment programs invest your money in the Forex (currency trading) market, or other emerging stock markets around the world.  They typically can earn one or two percent per day of your investment.  Now, I caution you that there are good ones but there are also bad HYIPs that fail.  So, don’t invest all of your nest egg, or money you need to eat, rather make them a small portion of your portfolio – if you win, you win, if you lose, you don’t starve.

Though mutual funds are pushed as the investment of choice, they are not the best investment.  Consider investing in real estate, a business or a HYIP to dramatically increase the returns on your portfolio.