Real estate tops investors’ Google searches in 2022: Report

With a combined search volume of 1.88 million, investing in real estate and property topped the search list of 11 countries, including Australia, Canada, the UK, and the United States.

Stocks were the second-most searched investment type — with the catch-all term pulling in 867,000 searches over the last year. 

The report noted that the strong search volume for “invest in stocks” indicates that many new investors are beginning to look up and learn how to begin trading stocks. 

Gold — which is popular due to its status as an inflation hedge and a safe-haven asset — took the third place, with 850,500 searches over the last year. 

Vogue assets such as cryptocurrency were also seen as an attractive investment opportunity. During the period, the search term “invest in cryptocurrency” saw 814,700 searches, while “invest in crypto” received 560,900 searches. 

Crypto also had the second-highest number of countries where it was the most searched-for investment opportunity, with France, Norway and Argentina among the nine countries that were “crypto-obsessed”, according to the report. 

Other popular investment options that investors wanted to learn more about were mutual funds (744,500 searches), commodities (443,200 searches), bonds (377,100 searches) and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) (317, 600 searches). 

Interestingly, non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, saw the biggest increase in interest from investors by a whopping 268.64 per cent. But the report noted that the strong search volume does not indicate a strong preference for the emerging asset. 

“NFTs are a divisive topic for many investors. However, there are those among the crypto and blockchain enthusiasts who are keen to promote NFTs as a revolutionary way to collect art and invest your money,” the report noted. 

Forex Suggest managing director Louis Schoeman also gave his top tips for making the most of investment opportunities: 

• Assess your risk tolerance. 

 “You can never be 100 per cent certain that an asset will increase in value once you’ve bought in,” Mr Schoeman stated. 

Before committing to an investment, he recommended investors weigh the risks against the potential rewards, with each investor having their own personal threshold for the amount of risk they are comfortable with. 

“Once you figure out your own risk tolerance, you’ll be able to invest with much greater confidence and make the most of opportunities as they present themselves,” he stated. 

• Look for reputable names

When investing in a company, Mr Schoeman advised investors to consider how trusted that company name is both within the industry and among the wider public.

“If a company has a bad reputation for going back on deals, treating its employees or customers unfairly, or is embroiled in scandals in the media, your investment could be sitting on shaky ground,” he commented. 

Alternatively, he said that  investments made in companies that are widely respected and well-liked are less likely to lose their value due to misconduct by staff and business leaders.  

• Diversify your investments

While knowing your risk threshold is a great way of limiting the potential fallout of a bad investment, Mr Schoeman said that diversifying assets in a portfolio is another great strategy for reducing risk.

“By investing in a wide range of companies from different industries and sectors, as well as investing in competing companies, any disaster within a single company or industry is going to have a less damaging impact on the rest of your investments. 

“In other words, don’t put all of your eggs in one basket,” he advised.  

•  Invest in originality

According to Mr Schoeman, originality is one of the most valuable qualities an asset can have. 

“To find investment options with the most originality, consider looking for companies that are at the cutting edge of their field, pushing the boundaries of technology or creating solutions to problems that are as yet unsolved. 

“Essentially, if a company is doing something of value that nobody else has managed to mimic, then you may well be on to a winner,” he stated.