New Year’s resolutions: where to invest with interest rates on the decline
Starting the new year with clear resolutions can make a big difference in your finances. However, ensuring that these goals don’t fall by the wayside requires some planning. One of the most common goals, though often forgotten, is to improve personal finances. For those who wish to grow their wealth and seek investment opportunities, 2025 arrives with uncertainty, but also with interesting options.
Controlled inflation and falling interest rates
The global macroeconomic context is currently in a turbulent phase. The return of Donald Trump to the White House was expected to boost financial markets. However, the threat of a trade war, not only with China but also with other economies like Europe through the imposition of new tariffs, or the new threat of intervention in the Panama Canal, could negatively impact the global economies and lead to a rise in inflation, which the European Central Bank (ECB) had considered under control after closing 2024 at 2.4%.
Although experts urge caution, the reality is that this stabilization has led to a rapid decline in interest rates in Europe, which are expected to reach 2% this year, 50 percentage points below the neutral level.
In this uncertain environment, a key question arises: where is it best to invest our money to avoid losing to inflation?
When choosing where to invest our capital, many aspects must be taken into account. Betting on a single sector can be a mistake, or relying on just one type of asset may not be beneficial. In times of political and economic uncertainty, building a diversified and balanced portfolio is crucial to mitigate the risks each investor can take on.
Is it worth starting to invest in fixed income?
For retail investors, the decline in interest rates has led to a significant loss of interest in low-risk fixed-income products offered by banks, such as interest-bearing accounts or deposits, which have barely been able to outperform government bonds, like Spanish Treasury bills, at their best.
However, outside of these basic products, and based on the future rate cuts expected by the European Central Bank (ECB), Schroders forecasts a promising year for fixed-income assets in 2025, especially corporate bonds, which are now being included in portfolios not only for their attractive income-generating potential with virtually zero risk but also for their opportunities for capital appreciation and their ability to act as a diversifier against other cyclical assets.
And what about equities?
With this new environment of low rates, equities are becoming one of the winning bets for 2025 for investors with a higher tolerance for risk. In this regard, leading fund managers point to stocks, especially those of U.S. companies, as assets with the highest potential for returns and that should be given more weight in portfolios.
Furthermore, Trump’s aforementioned victory, a staunch advocate of digital assets, has revived the value of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which reached historical highs in December of the previous year. Thanks to this new horizon, BlackRock, Fidelity, or Morgan Stanley have started to increase their exposure to crypto-assets, with allocations ranging from 1% to 3%. Other entities, such as Franklin Templeton, are taking it a step further with the launch of combined Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. The Crypto Market Outlook 2025 report, produced by Sygnum, the world’s first digital asset bank, considers the launch of such investment vehicles as one of the major drivers for cryptocurrencies, which have significantly increased their demand.
The regulation of these assets, which was previously very scarce, will also be a catalyst in 2025 with the arrival of MiCA, the world’s first regulatory framework that will introduce stricter requirements for crypto-asset service providers, including licenses, market abuse prevention, and anti-money laundering controls.
Real estate market: a low-risk investment with double-digit returns
For more conservative investors who don’t want to take on risks but also don’t want to lose profitability, there are still some attractive alternatives with declining interest rates: the real estate market.
Among the opportunities offered by real estate outside the usual buy-sell circuit, real estate crowdfunding stands out, allowing retail investors to invest in new construction projects with a small amount of money, with a ticket starting at 500 euros, and with significant returns through various formulas like crowdlending or debt, equity, or rents.
Thus, Urbanitae projects provide an average return of 17% over medium terms (1 to 3 years) and focus heavily on promoting projects not only in residential properties but also other types of constructions such as storage units, tourist accommodations, or commercial spaces, among others. The consulting firm CBRE already pointed out in its 2024 Trends in Real Estate Asset Valuations report that key assets for investment will continue to include logistics, student housing, and build-to-rent. The most benefited cities are Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, and Zaragoza, with a 6% growth in 2024. Furthermore, the report shows valuable figures regarding land in the Cantabrian area of Galicia, Levante, and the Costa del Sol, with an average evolution of 5.50% in the past year.