A surprise evening with puppies or a hidden gift in a cake are the kind of unconventional gift ideas people are turning to these days. It’s all about being different and making new trends.
Even investments have new trends that you most probably haven’t considered yet. Here are 5 unconventional investment ideas that may be just what you’re looking for.
Land
Investing in real estate is not unconventional, but the way you do it can make you stand out.
As cities sweep outward, investing in land assures returns. Take for example, Oragadam, a suburb of Chennai. During the mid 2000s, an acre cost around 1-2 lakhs here. But today, as the place has changed to an industrial belt with plants of automotive giants, those who bought an acre for 1 lakh can now sell it at 1 crore or more (as per the current real estate trends in the location).
Thinking out of the box and acting smart is the key here. There are smart investors who consolidated land holdings and sold it to developers at handsome returns.
Diamonds
Diamonds are not just prized possessions of the rich. They are now emerging as an asset class.
Previously, due to lack of knowledge and absence of standardized practices, many did not considered buying diamonds as an investment. But today, with the emergence of new standardized brands, it is easy to get educated about buying and selling diamonds. The jeweler from whom you bought diamonds will buy them back at the market rate. You can sell them through auction houses too.
As the gap between demand and supply of diamonds is increasing, you can always expect a good appreciation of price.
Platinum
Another avenue that has opened up over the past few years is investing in the noble metal platinum. It is also a smart long term investment strategy. Platinum is available in the physical form as coins and bars. One can also get into trading platinum as a commodity at the National Spot Exchange in India.
The e-platinum platform is slowly gaining popularity amongst investors. Platinum can also be invested in the Futures market as Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX). Since this is a highly volatile market with risks, it is recommended for advanced traders and investors only.
The price of platinum is also expected to rise in the near future as the platinum jewelery market is evolving.
Classic cars
Still have your grandfather’s prized vintage car at your ancestral home? It may not actually be the junk you think it is. Buying vintage cars is a passion for many rich car lovers. So the so-out-of-date car could actually fill up your pockets.
There are many who buy vintage cars and resell them at handsome prices. If you can buy the right model at the right time and price, it can bring you good returns.
The rarer the car, the more it fetches.But you should know the right place and market to get the right value.
Investing in vintage and classic cars is still at a nascent stage in India. But there are good possibilities for this to become a top-performing asset for those who know how to strike the right note with it.
Art
If you are an avid art lover and know it well, you can try investing in it to get some brownies and cakes (at the art galleries of course. We kid!).
Though there are different opinions about investing in art, someone who knows the market can make good use of it.
The Indian art market was lagging much behind globally, but as the works of Indian masters like M.F. Husain, S.H. Raza and F.N. Souza have been selling at crores for auctions, many art lovers see new hopes for investing in art.
Indian art is now growing globally and a decent price appreciation is expected for contemporary Indian works. Newbies can try their hands with contemporary artists whose works are available cheaper now and are likely to appreciate over a long term. For those who can invest more, blue-chip works of masters are available.
Investing in established artists guarantees decent returns. But there is a higher risk along with high expectations while investing in new artists.
If you are planning to go the unconventional way in investing, make sure that your bases are covered. This means, you own a home, a decent life insurance cover and a diversified regular investment portfolio with a balanced mix of debt and equity investments, to cushion yourself from life’s vagaries.
Treat your investments just as you would treat the Harley Davidson someone surprised you with. Of course, it’s a Harley and you have it for just that one day.
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