5 Investments with Low Correlation to the Stock Market

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Investments with Very Low Correlation to the Stock Market

The past few years have been turbulent for investors. We’ve seen historic highs as well as steep rises and declines in single days. The stock market can be a roller coaster ride for sure.

While stocks and traditional investments like mutual funds and ETFs remain popular and effective investment options, it’s very possible that you’re interested in having a portion of your portfolio invested in something that won’t be dependant on the current status of the stock market. 

While there are plenty of alternative investments available, some of them have a higher correlation to the stock market than others. Those with low correlation will be less impacted by the up and down swings of the stock market. It’s possible that your alternative investments could continue to increase in value or at least hold steady while the stock market may be declining.

Of course, it’s important to note that low correlation doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily a good investment, or even low volatility. All investments come with risk, but the goal here is to find investment opportunities with strong track records in addition to having independence from the stock market.

Alternative Investments with Low Correlation to Stocks

If you’re interested in finding some investment opportunities that can add diversification to your portfolio, here are five options you might want to consider.

Remember that every investment comes with risk. This article is intended to present options, not to make recommendations. Be sure to do your own due diligence before making any investment decision.

1. Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Solana, and others have become extremely popular alternative investments. While crypto is highly volatile as an investment, its correlation to the stock market is low.

The meteoric rise of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general over the past few years has led to crypto becoming a mainstream investment option. Very few investments have produced the type of returns that crypto investors have seen over the past few years.

Investing in cryptocurrency isn’t a good idea if your goal is to find a stable, low-risk investment. However, it could be a good fit if you’re looking for an investment with a big upside and the possibility to increase in value while the stock market is declining or stagnating. Be sure to do your own research and due diligence before investing.

Thankfully, investing in crypto is easier than ever before. Here are some of our favorite options.

Public.com

Public

Public.com offers commission-free trades of stocks, funds, and you can also buy and sell 25 different cryptocurrencies through Public.com.

You’ll also love the social aspect of Public.com. You can follow other investors, connect with your friends, and learn from others in this supportive community. And best of all, Public.com is extremely user-friendly. If you’re new to crypto or investing, you’ll appreciate how easy it is to use Public.com.

Read our Public.com review for more details.

Top Pick
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Public.com offers fractional shares so anyone can start investing. You'll love the social aspect that makes it possible to connect with other investors. Get a free stock slice worth up to $300 when you open an account through our link.

Features:
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Offer valid for U.S. residents 18+ and subject to account approval. This is not a recommendation. You can lose money with any investment. Open To The Public Investing is a member of FINRA & SIPC. Regulatory and firm fees apply. New customers receive free stock with value $3-300; 0.3% receive the max value. Cryptocurrency trading provided by Apex Crypto LLC (NMLS ID 1828849). Apex Crypto is licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the New York State Department of Financial Services. See Public.com/disclosures/

BlockFi

BlockFi - Invest in Crypto

BlockFi allows you to earn interest on your crypto. While banks are paying ridiculously low rates for the cash you hold in a savings account, you can earn up to 9.5% APY on the cryptocurrency you hold in your BlockFi account. The amount of interest you’ll earn depends on a few factors, including the specific cryptocurrencies you hold. Of course, the interest is paid in crypto, so it’s an ideal way to grow your cryptocurrency holdings quickly.

Please note that accounts with BlockFi (like all accounts that pay interest on crypto) are not FDIC insured as traditional savings accounts with a bank.

Get started with BlockFi.

Titan

Titan

Titan is a premier investment firm that offers an actively managed portfolio of crypto assets (1% management fee). The crypto experts at Titan craft the portfolio based on the cryptocurrencies they expect to produce excellent long-term returns. The portfolio usually includes about 5-10 different cryptocurrencies.

If you’re interested in investing in crypto but not sure where to start (or don’t have the time to do your own research), investing with Titan could be a good option. The fund only has a few months of history at the time this article is being written, but so far it’s done very well.

Get started with Titan.

Titan: A Premier Investment Firm For Everyone Titan: A Premier Investment Firm For Everyone

Titan provides world-class asset management for the average investor. You can get started with as little as $100 and get similar benefits as investing hedge funds and with robo advisors.

Features:
  • Potential for outsized gains
  • Excellent historical returns
  • 4 strategies to include in your portfolio
  • Managed cryptocurrency fund
  • 100% liquidity

2. Fine Wine

While it’s certainly not the first investment that comes to mind, fine wine has a surprisingly strong track record. The Liv-Ex Fine Wine Investables Index has been tracking the industry since 1988 and the results have outperformed the S&P 500, including during downturns. Scarcity and aging are among the factors that help fine wine to increase in value with time. 

Although fine wine has a strong track record as an investment, it hasn’t been a practical or realistic option for the average investor. The average person isn’t likely to know which wines would make a good investment or when to sell part of your wine portfolio. In fact, most people wouldn’t know where to get started.

Today, investing in fine wine is a realistic option for just about any investor thanks to Vint and Vinovest. Unlike many other alternative investments, Vinovest and Vint are open to all investors, not just accredited investors.

Vint presents the easiest way to get started. You can buy shares in a collection of fine wine that has been hand-picked by Vint’s experts based on the potential to produce strong returns for investors. You’ll be paid when the collection is sold (the target hold is 3-7 years).

The experts at Vinovest will create a custom portfolio of wines based on your own investment goals. You don’t even need to touch the wine as Vinovest will store it in its secure facility for you.

As an investor, you’ll benefit from the expertise of the Vinovest team. In addition to creating a custom portfolio of wine for you, they’ll handle everything (this includes buying the wine, shipping, and storing it). Vinovest will advise you when it may be the right time to sell, but it’s your decision when to sell and you can sell at any time. Whenever you decide to sell a portion of your portfolio or the entire portfolio, Vinovest will find a buyer and manage the transaction for you.

While Vinovest is a relatively new company, the track record of fine wine as an investment is encouraging for potential investors. To learn more, please visit Vinovest’s website.

3. Farmland

Real estate is one of the most popular alternative investments and with good reason. Countless millionaires have made their fortune through real estate.

While rental properties, commercial real estate, and even rehab/renovations can all produce excellent results, there are also some drawbacks to investing in real estate. Owning rental properties can be a major commitment if you’re managing the properties yourself. Real estate values can also be significantly impacted at times by the economy or stock market, and vice versa.

Another option for investing in real estate is to invest in farmland. Instead of renting out a house, apartment, or office to tenants, you’ll be renting the land to farmers. 

Farmland is another investment opportunity that has a surprisingly strong track record. Over the past four decades, farmland as an investment has outperformed stocks and bonds (source). Not only has it produced excellent returns, but farmland has also proven to be a very stable investment with very little correlation to the stock market.

There are many reasons to consider investing in farmland, including a likely increase in demand. The supply of farmland in the United States is decreasing, and a growing population means that more food is constantly needed. Decreasing supply and increasing demand contribute to rising property values and better returns for investors. And of course, you can also make money from renting the farmland while you own it.

While farmland may be an attractive investment option, buying a large farm may not be something that interests you. Thankfully, there are more practical ways to invest in farmland.

In recent years, some crowdfunding platforms have been started specifically for the purpose of managing investments in farmland. Two of the leading platforms are AcreTrader and FarmTogether. Both of them allow investors to own a share of a specific farm. Investors earn dividends from rental income, making it an income-generating asset. Then a final payout is made when the property is eventually sold. Most of the investments on these two platforms have a target hold of 5-10 years.

Both AcreTrader and FarmTogether are currently open to accredit investors only.

To qualify as an accredited investor, you must have earned income of $200,000 for an individual (or $300,000 combined income if married) for the previous two calendar years, or net worth exceeding $1,000,000 (individually or combined with a spouse), excluding your primary residence.

The minimum investment will vary from one offering to the next, but they are generally in the $10,000 – $25,000 range.

Those who are not accredited investors do have some options, like investing in farmland or agricultural REITs, mutual funds, or ETFs.

4. Life Settlements

If you’re looking for an investment that is in no way influenced by the stock market or the economy, life settlements may be an investment you want to consider.

This is an unusual investment and it can seem rather morbid, but if that doesn’t turn you off, there can be a nice upside to the investment. 

An investment in life settlements is basically an investment in life insurance policies. Someone may be interested in selling their life insurance policy for a lump sum rather than continuing to pay premiums and hold the policy. The price paid for the policy is typically lower than the death benefit but more than the current cash value of the policy. The investor would continue to pay the premiums on the policy and would collect the death benefit after the insured’s death.

There are life settlement funds that manage a portfolio of these investments. Most of them are only open to accredited investors, so this is not the best option for anyone who does not meet the qualifications of an accredited investor.

Investing in life settlements gives you the possibility of double-digit returns while investing in something with no correlation to the stock market.

5. Art

Traditionally, fine art has been an investment for the wealthy, but not a realistic option for the average person. However, Masterworks has changed that. 

Masterworks is a platform that allows anyone (regardless of whether you’re an accredited or non-accredited investor) to invest in blue-chip art.

Historically, blue-chip artwork (as measured by the Artprice100) has outperformed the S&P 500. While the work of artists like Andy Warhol has a strong track record as investments, most people don’t have the capital to buy pieces from famous artists. Thanks to Masterworks, you can own a share of a piece of art without the need to be an art expert or manage any aspect of it.

Masterworks purchases paintings that they view as a sound investment, and then they sell shares to investors. They intend to own the piece for roughly 3-7 years before selling it for a profit and paying investors.

Shares are sold for $20 each, but the minimum investment will vary depending on the offering. 

→ Related reading: Living Off Dividends: How to Use Passive Income to Cover Your Expenses

One Last Option: Gold

Gold doesn’t exactly fit the topic of this article because it does have some correlation to the stock market, but it is unique because it has an inverse correlation. Typically, gold is more likely to produce returns when the stock market is declining. While investing in gold may not help you to avoid ups and downs, it can serve as a hedge that will offset some of the risks of your other investments and also provide some protection against inflation.

There are many different ways that you can invest in gold, like mutual funds and ETFs. Another option is Vaulted. With Vaulted, you can easily purchase real gold bars that will be stored for you at the Royal Canadian Mint. You can easily sell your gold at any time you choose. Vaulted is open to all investors, accredited or non-accredited.

As you can see, there are some investment options out there that aren’t likely to be influenced by the stock market. While some of the options are only open to accredited investors, non-accredited investors do have some options as well (like Vinovest and Masterworks).

READ NEXT: Real Estate Crowdfunding for Non-Accredited Investors


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Features:
  • Commission-free trades of stocks and ETFs
  • Buy and sell 25+ different cryptocurrencies
  • Fractional shares
  • Access alternative investments
  • High-yield treasuries accounts
  • Social community of investors
  • User-friendly interface
Features:
  • Commission-free trades of stocks, ETFs, options, and ADRs
  • Powerful screening and charting tools
  • Free real-time level 2 data
  • User-friendly mobile app
  • AI monitoring
  • AI-powered price forecasts
  • Free investing courses
Features:
  • Commission-free trades of stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrency
  • Buy fractional shares for any amount
  • Extended trading hours
  • Advanced reporting tools
  • Schedule recurring investments
  • IRAs now available
  • 24/7 customer service

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