Eight Ways to Invest Your Money Online

If you are looking for ways to invest your money, ensure that you fully investigate all of the online investment options available today

Remember back in the good old days when you had to post a check to your broker to fund upcoming buys? Or when eTrade was considered revolutionary because it allowed you to watch what was happening with your investment in (almost) real time? Today, the online investment realm is ripe with opportunities to grow your portfolio. From extremely low risk/minimal return options to more volatile but potentially lucrative investment vehicles, the internet is now an established playground for investors at all levels. The following are eight great ways to invest your money online:

1. Online Savings Accounts: These easy-to-fund and incredibly safe accounts don't pay a lot, but they also offer FDIC coverage and plenty of flexibility for your cash. Most accounts are governed by government regulations to minimise the kind of transactions that would create frequent balance fluctuations, but you're still generally able to move money up to six times per month without invoking any kind of penalty - like a Regulation D charge.
2.  Online Checking Accounts: Similar to the benefits of an online savings account, the checking option provides one key benefit that the savings account does not - the ability to conduct as many transactions as you'd like without incurring regulatory wrath. Check with your preferred financial institution first, but most offer unlimited transactions and a low minimal amount that needs to be kept in the account. The returns are similarly low, but online-only banks tend to offer better yields due to their streamlined overhead.
3. Peer-to-Peer Lending: This option is becoming incredibly popular these days, as more and more individuals migrate from traditional lending sources, like banks or credit unions, to crowd-funded solutions as offered by peer-to-peer lenders. P2P leader Lending Club has funded nearly $8 billion in loans since its launch in 2007. These lenders invite investors to pool money to fund personal loans to a variety of applicants and can often deliver significant returns with quite calculated risk.
4. Online Stock Trading: Modern investors buy and sell securities through online platforms that combine immediate feedback on the performance of the holding, as well as inexpensive management services and access to investing tools and resources. Invest online and see just how easy it is to manage a portfolio from the comfort of your couch, er… home office.
5. Make an Online Payment to a Credit Card: Okay, this one is a bit of a cheat as paying off a debt doesn't necessarily represent an investment, but consider this - reducing $1000 in debt at a 15% annual percentage rate is like earning 15% on an investment. Plus, you're guaranteed to save 15% if you do so. Before getting too hot and heavy in any investment opportunity, work to minimise your debt load.
6. Purchase REITs online: Through brokerage firms or even crowd-funded portals, you can invest in Real Estate Investment Trusts. This option enables a group of investors to pool money and invest in a piece of real estate. The performance of the real estate is then recognised as the return on investment to the owners. REITs have become quite popular, and they are even being used to raise capital by some major retailers when sales dip or new competitors come to market.
7. Purchase Wine Online: Yes - you read that correctly. By investing in quality bottles of wine and storing them appropriately, many connoisseurs can reap annual gains of 5-15% in value, while amassing a tangible and quite tasty investment item. Whilst few individuals will amass serious wealth as a derivative of "vino-investing," there is something to be said about seeking specific bottles of wine online and then holding them until maturity.
8. Online trading: Use an online platform to invest in a variety of instruments, from commodities to bullion, energy to treasury bonds. Using the right platform and software for your intended investment activities is the real key, and there are several options in software packages and apps that are available today that can help you to operate efficiently and minimise risk.

There is no limit to the diversity in options when it comes to investing your money online. In fact, this isn't the future of investing… this is the present, and there is no better time than today to take advantage of the wide range of available investment vehicles that can drive significant returns through proper management of your assets. Invest your money to make money, and do so through an online forum that supports your needs and caters to your risk tolerance and appetite for gains.