Should You Invest in Stocks, Gold, or Real Estate with Your Idle $50,000 to $100,000?

According to Mr. Phan Dũng Khánh, Investment Advisory Director at Maybank Investment Bank, careful consideration is needed for investments from now until the end of the year, given the current economic and market conditions. He suggests that investors should thoroughly research different sectors and allocate their assets according to their risk tolerance.

Regarding the stock market, Mr. Khánh believes that overall, the cash flow is weak and it will be challenging for the VN-Index to recover to its previous peak. While economic data is improving, most businesses are still facing difficulties, except for some export-oriented enterprises that are performing better. The concerning issue is the weak cash flow in the market, making it difficult to expect a short-term breakthrough. If there is any expectation of a significant improvement, it will likely occur in 2025 or, at the earliest, towards the end of this year. However, investing in the stock market can still yield good returns if investors choose the right sectors.

Mr. Khánh points out that while the US stock market has been consistently reaching new highs, the Vietnamese stock market has failed to surpass the 1,300 mark since the beginning of the year. The historical peak we achieved was two years ago. Therefore, if we assess the potential based on the general VNIndex, the outlook is not very promising. Nevertheless, some sectors within the market remain stable. For example, technology stocks are leading the way, with FPT setting new records on multiple occasions.

“I believe that some sectors have the potential to perform well in the second half of the year, such as energy, with a focus on new, green, and renewable energy. The next sector is transportation, particularly air and sea transportation. Additionally, the consumer goods sector, especially essential consumer goods, also looks promising,” he forecasts.

Meanwhile, traditional sectors like banking, securities, and real estate are unlikely to recover to their previous peaks in the short term. “Real estate stocks have been weak for the past 2 to 3 years. I expect this sector to improve during the latter part of this year or in 2025, not in the immediate future,” he adds.

For traditional investment channels, saving deposits can be a good option for many people and should be included in their portfolios. Currently, savings interest rates are also trending upwards, narrowing the gap with lending rates.

Investing in real estate is more suitable for medium to long-term investors rather than short-term speculators. Medium to long-term investments will need to be held until next year or even the year after to see stable returns.

Investing in gold is also not attractive, despite gold reaching new peaks recently and gaining market attention. In the first half of the year, world gold prices continuously hit new highs, and this potential has already been reflected in the price, so the pace of increase may slow down in the future.

“Furthermore, gold prices in Vietnam will lag behind world gold prices. There is also a significant difference between the buy and sell prices of gold in Vietnam, for example, the current SJC gold price is 79-81 million VND/tael, and the gold ring price is 78.5-78.3 million VND/tael. Therefore, even if the price increases, investors will have to wait for a while for the increase to exceed this difference before making a profit. Not to mention, storing gold is inconvenient, and depositing gold in a bank incurs fees,” says the expert, expressing his skepticism about gold investment in the coming time.

For idle money of 1-2 billion VND, Mr. Khánh believes that there is no one-size-fits-all formula for investment. It depends on individual income backgrounds and risk appetites. Investment decisions are also influenced by the ability to borrow money from friends, family, or banks.