Gold was the most popular personal investment in the United States, with an average monthly volume of 1.2 million Google searches, according to a study conducted by financial publisher the Lazy Trader. “When it comes to choosing the right personal investment for yourself, it can be difficult weighing up the pros and cons,” said Lazy Trader CEO Robert Colville in a press release. “It is important to be well-educated on where you invest your money, as some methods will be more successful than others; make sure you have conducted extensive research and remain aware of what your choice of investments will entail.”The Lazy Trader said gold is a commodity that trades based on supply and demand, as the ratio between them determines its price at the time of investment. With the elevated interest rates and the continual concerns of a recession in the US, it said gold can be a reliable long-term investment and outperform other assets such as properties and different equities because it is easier to liquidate. A group of American representatives introduced a bill in April to return the green back to the gold standard for the first time in more than a half a century. READ MORE: US congressmen introduced bill to re-tie the Greenback to gold standardThe Gold Standard Restoration Act would reinstate a standard Federal Reserve dollar to the fixed weight of a gold bullion. It was sponsored by Republican Rep. Alex Mooney (WV-02), Rep. Paul Gosar (AZ-09) and Andy Biggs (AZ-05).If passed, the Gold Standard Restoration Act would require the US Treasury and Federal Reserve to disclose all gold holdings and transactions denominated in gold for two years. After that, the dollar would be tied to the market price of gold.The Lazy Trader went on to say silver was the second most popular personal investment in the US (677,527 searches). It added silver mining has decreased since 2015, making it a valuable asset to invest in before it becomes a rarer raw material. Oil came in third place (588,808). Due to the high demand of fossil fuels, oil prices are decreasing while need for it remains high, which results in it becoming a more valuable resource. Natural gas was the fourth most popular personal investment in the US (150,880). With growing concerns about global warming and ways to make the Earth greener, natural gas is being used as a replacement for coal to reduce fuel emissions into the atmosphere. Forex finished in fifth place (85,112). Forex has convenient operating hours and low transaction costs because its trading has lower fees than other financial markets. After Forex was real estate (81,397). This was followed by copper (69,468), options (51,448) and penny stocks (45,351). Colville concluded by saying it “is interesting to see which investments Americans are most eager to try and learn more about.” “With an unpredictable economy and the constant changes in prices of stocks and commodities, people should be warier of fluctuations in these environments and ensure they put their money into a reliable form of personal investment,” he said. Data was gathered from Google Keyword Planner search volumes of different personal investments that were averaged over the period from January 2023 to October 2023 in the US. The search volumes were aggregated by investment and ranked by their monthly average from most to least searched.
