If you’re looking for ways to maximize your returns and put your money to work, the start of a new year is the ideal time to explore interesting opportunities. In today’s climate it’s important to take financial risks, particularly with your investment strategy, and for the investors that aren’t too risk-averse, the payoffs can be huge.

Of course, your risk needs to be based on facts and research, and not emotion.

The following are some things to think about with risk in general, as well as specific investment opportunities in 2018.

What About Bitcoin?

A big question on the mind of a lot of investors for 2018 is whether or not Bitcoin is a good option, or if it’s just too risky.

It is certainly a risky strategy, but it’s also provided excellent returns for some investors.

The big question when it comes to investing in Bitcoin seems to be whether or not it’s a bubble that’s about to burst, and you can hear arguments on both sides of the spectrum. There’s no way to tell right now, although it did demonstrate a tremendous rise in 2017.

The best thing to do is learn as much as you can, make a guided decision, and be prepared for significant volatility, no matter what. 

IPOs

Initial Public Offerings are one of those investment opportunities that seem glamorous, and they often get a lot of buzz, but they’re highly risky.

It’s all of the attention they’re getting that can alter valuations and give big short-term returns, but they’re incredibly risky because you just never know what’s going to come from the company and its management teams going forward after the IPO.

Are REITs A Good Idea?

The real estate market is going pretty strong, and you may want to get a piece of the action without buying property.

Real estate investment trusts or REITs, do offer that with high dividends, and as a result, the companies get tax incentives.

REITs are a simple way to invest in real estate, but they’re also prone to volatility because they depend on the overall economy, the general real estate market, and also trends in localized markets.

Some of the highest dividends you might see from REITs range from 10 to 15%, and these also bring about the greatest amount of risk, so whether or not that’s appealing to you is a personal decision and is based on what you can stomach.

High-Yield Bonds

Finally, another easy but also high-risk investment vehicle that you might want to take a look at in 2018 are high yield bonds. You can find high yield bonds issued by companies with a lot of debt, as well as by governments facing large amounts of debt.

You invest in these bonds, and you may get tremendous returns. At the same time, you may also lose your principal.

A lot of investors do find these risky bonds appealing, especially in comparison to government bonds where interest rates are low. If you do go this route, watch out for junk bonds, but do know that not all of these bonds are going to fail.