What’s the best investment of 2022? Not cryptocurrency and NFTs, according to new research.
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Thousands of investors around the world were asked what they considered would be the best performing investments this year.
On average, 25 per cent of the 40,000 investors taking part in the sentiment survey felt cash would provide the best return in 2022 despite the current meagre interest rates on savings.
Property was the second choice, with 23 per cent of investors.
Cryptocurrency and stocks and shares came third each with 17 per cent of investors expecting digital currencies and stock markets to provide big profits.
NFTs (6 per cent), commodities (7 per cent) and bonds (6 per cent) were thought to be the least likely best investment performers of 2022.
Cash Takes The Crown
Cash is king for most investors. Savings were voted the best investment for 2022 in ine countries, including the US, Singapore, Canada and Brazil.
However, high inflation in many economies quickly erodes the meagre interest rates offered by most banks.
Countries where the most savers are favouring cash as investment are the US and Canada.
Property Offers A Sound Foundation
There’s no battle of the sexes when it comes to property investment. Both genders agreed property was likely to offer the best investment yield this year.
One in four men opted for property as the best investment of 2022, while 34 per cent of women agreed with them.
Investors around the world supported the view.
Japanese investors had the least faith in property, with only 8 per cent plumping for the asset class despite a mini-property boom in the country. Towards the end of 2021, apartments had gone up in price by just over 10 per cent in a year.
French investors have more faith in property for 2022, with 44 per cent expecting to make the most money from bricks and mortar, voting homes the country’s best asset class for the year.
Besides the UK’s show of support, Germany, Australia and Austria also rated property as their best investment class.
Michelle Stevens, mortgage specialist at Finder.com, believes the research suggests rising interest rates are not putting off Brits from investing in bricks-and-mortar.
“Brits are most likely to back property over other investments, despite the Bank of England recently raising the base interest rate. The Bank has hinted that further interest rate hikes are on the horizon which could see an end to the house price boom we’ve witnessed over the past two years,” she said.
NFTs And Cryptocurrency
NFTs are rising in popularity as mainstream investments but only Hong Kong and Turkey posted more than lukewarm support from investors.
NFTs were not rated in the top three investments of either country. Although 14 per cent of investors in Hong Kong and 12 per cent in Turkey voted for them.
Cryptocurrency fared a little better, with Argentina (33 per cent) and Colombia, Spain and Turkey (25 per cent each) making the digital phenomenon their most likely to perform choice for the year.
NFTs were not voted the top investment anywhere, while cryptocurrency was the top-rated investment in three countries.
Globally, 5.9 per cenet of investors opted for NFTs ending 2022 as the best investment.
Most popular investments by country
The table below shows the full results of the Finder.com survey by more than 40,000 internet users worldwide in December 2021.
The investment ratings were:
- Cash (25 per cent of the vote)
- Property (23 per cent)
- Stocks and shares (17 per cent)
- Cryptocurrency (17 per cent)
- Commodities (7 per cent)
- NFTs and bonds ( 6 per cent each)
The percentages in bold show the top rated investment for each nation.
| Country | Cash | Stocks | Cryptocurrency | NFTs | Property | Bonds | Commodities |
| US | 34% | 18% | 14% | 4% | 21% | 6% | 5% |
| India | 26% | 26% | 12% | 7% | 13% | 11% | 5% |
| UK | 24% | 17% | 15% | 4% | 30% | 6% | 5% |
| Canada | 33% | 11% | 15% | 3% | 28% | 4% | 6% |
| Australia | 28% | 16% | 15% | 4% | 31% | 4% | 3% |
| South Africa | 19% | 24% | 21% | 7% | 19% | 5% | 5% |
| Ireland | 24% | 19% | 20% | 6% | 20% | 6% | 6% |
| The Philippines | 30% | 18% | 17% | 7% | 18% | 6% | 6% |
| Singapore | 33% | 17% | 15% | 7% | 17% | 7% | 3% |
| New Zealand | 21% | 21% | 15% | 8% | 26% | 5% | 4% |
| Hong Kong | 22% | 21% | 15% | 14% | 14% | 7% | 7% |
| Germany | 27% | 22% | 8% | 2% | 30% | 4% | 8% |
| Austria | 23% | 14% | 11% | 4% | 33% | 6% | 9% |
| Switzerland | 22% | 19% | 15% | 7% | 26% | 3% | 9% |
| Sweden | 20% | 30% | 12% | 7% | 25% | 4% | 4% |
| Spain | 28% | 11% | 25% | 6% | 20% | 4% | 6% |
| Argentina | 25% | 7% | 33% | 6% | 20% | 5% | 4% |
| Colombia | 24% | 13% | 25% | 6% | 21% | 7% | 4% |
| Mexico | 24% | 15% | 15% | 6% | 25% | 7% | 9% |
| Chile | 25% | 12% | 14% | 3% | 30% | 9% | 8% |
| France | 9% | 7% | 15% | 3% | 44% | 6% | 17% |
| Italy | 16% | 9% | 19% | 4% | 19% | 8% | 27% |
| Japan | 32% | 44% | 7% | 3% | 8% | 1% | 5% |
| Brazil | 30% | 13% | 18% | 8% | 13% | 13% | 4% |
| Turkey | 19% | 14% | 25% | 13% | 12% | 9% | 8% |
| The Netherlands | 23% | 10% | 22% | 4% | 29% | 3% | 9% |
Source: Finder.com
What’s The Best Investment Of 2022 FAQ
What are commodities?
Commodities are natural resources or raw materials that are bought, sold and traded by investors. Oil, wheat, coffee and sugar are examples of traded commodities. Most commodities are interchangeable, like a barrel of oil from one producer is essentially the same as a barrel from another producer.
Why isn’t gold included as an investment?
It is included as an investment, grouped with other commodities.
How does inflation impact savings?
The problem arises when the interest rate earned on cash savings is less than the rate of inflation.
For example, the best savings rate in the UK is an ISA returning 2.5 per cent interest, while inflation is 5.5 per cent yearly. That means that your spending power has dropped by 3 per cent (5.5 – 2.5).
What is a sentiment survey?
A sentiment survey categorises the opinions of a group of people. The survey reveals how people feel about a brand, investment or political party as a comparison to general data. Analysts can interpret how people think about investments, but cannot work out the timing of when a market might turn.
Do investment preferences differ by age?
Age does affect the type of investments people make. It’s noticeable, for instance, that the older age groups favour property investment over riskier cryptocurrency.
| Age | 18-24 | 25-34 | 35-44 | 45-54 | 55-64 | 65+ |
| Cash | 26% | 27% | 25% | 23% | 22% | 19% |
| Stocks, shares or ETFs | 17% | 15% | 14% | 17% | 22% | 21% |
| Cryptocurrency | 22% | 15% | 17% | 11% | 14% | 13% |
| NFTs | 3% | 7% | 4% | 4% | 2% | 0% |
| Property | 23% | 26% | 28% | 35% | 32% | 36% |
| Bonds | 3% | 5% | 6% | 6% | 6% | 7% |
| Commodities | 6% | 7% | 6% | 3% | 2% | 4% |
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