Which investment will do best doesn't equate to the safest investment. The "best" investments are usually those with the highest return and the highest risk. Cash is the safest investment, but is often the worst investment because of inflation. Due to the survey using best and safest interchangeably, I don't think that the results can be trusted.

Cryptocurrency has boomed this year so far. So technically speaking if you were to sell while it's at it's height it could very well have been the best investment for someone in 2021. I'm not saying it's a wise investment just that it's possible that it was the best investment some people have had in 2021.

why one needs a survey for something that's so logical. If one can't understand this better they don't invest.

Bitcoin etc. are only worth anything because everyone involved thinks they are worth something. As soon as doubt creeps in, virtual currencies are done. This is the 2020 equivalent (how appropriate!) of Beanie Babies. Yes, lots of people made money on both these bubbles, but lots of people got really burned when the music stopped. Any investor, in fact ALL investors, before they part with the first dime, should Read Charles MacKay's book "Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds". It discusses financial bubbles of all kinds (which are a recurring phenomenon, people just. won't. learn.) including the great Tulip bubble in Holland. One of the most important guides to investing is "when everyone is doing it, it is time to get out". Houses are a good investment, when a bubble goes blooie (What? In real estate? Never happen!) at least you have someplace to live because houses have an intrinsic value in the real world. Bitcoin is imaginary, intangible, backed by the full faith and credit of nobody, and you can't cook or eat beanie babies.

What's the percentage of men vs women who answered this survey?

Most economists believe that we will have asset price inflation vs consumer inflation over the next several years, meaning, the list , particularly the first 3, will perform very well. There are some great articles on this out there if you search.

The majority are usually wrong that is how markets work. Looking at the least favorite is often a good contrary indicator. Of course the majority can be right for a awhile, everyone loved real estate in 2005, it couldn't lose!!!

The safest investment for 2021 is the one that lets you sleep at night and makes your life easiest. For some, it's RE. For others, it's stocks and for others, it is a CD because want to outlive what you can't afford to lose. I do get concerned about the craziness of the RE valuations which are artificially high due to the ultra low interest rates. Our society has run into problems because we tend to buy payments , not assets... whether it's a car, a house, a boat or a credit card balance. I agree with a previous respondent above... watch out what the Biden admin will do with it's new power having house, senate and WH... I can only hope Sen. Joe Manchin from West Virginia becomes the firewall like he says he will so it doesn't get too crazy. It is worrisome that the left is talking about annual taxing of unrealized capital gains as well as eliminating the step up value of assets at inheritance (not to mention something being floated around that he wants to tax those cap gains at the earned income rate instead over a million dollars. Add to that the thought of eliminating the 1031 exchange laws. Will they do it? Who knows... many of them are in the cross hairs as they too invest in RE. Let the redistribution begin.

Everything goes up when the Fed dictates the markets with endless capital.

Since I have zero control over what any government "might do" in the future, my response will have to be to adjust my investments away from ones they "punish" and towards ones they "reward". Simply stated, capital goes where it is welcome and departs where it is not. The states that have no income tax gain people from the states that have punitive income taxes. (Works the same way internationally, too.) The Fed flooding the market with endless capital is the recipe for inflation - too many dollars (or any other currency) chasing too few "things". Accordingly, the price of "things" (or services) goes up to whatever the market will bear. You will notice that the housing crash wasn't caused by any problem with the actual HOUSES, it was caused instead by various financial shenanigans (liar loans, 125% LTV loans, inflated appraisals, CMO's, etc.) resulting in prices so high that nobody could afford to buy them at "bubble" prices. The market eventually corrected, and a lot of people got hurt when it did. Wasn't the first time, won't be the last time. Be careful out there . . .

Please buy $3k worth of Ethereum right now and thank me later.

Seriously? This entire article is recommending investments entirely because of a SURVEY? And only a survey of 5,001 people. Public opinion is hardly an argument for making investments. I expected better than that from BiggerPockets.

Investing has a much longer time frame than speculation. My fear is many now are engaged in speculation and think their investing. Bitcoin?? As Joe Biden would say “ come on man” Most people on this site would be wise to read the writings of Warren Buffet. Stop chasing the fades of the day and start INVESTING and looking at things in long time frames of decades. Wealth doesn’t happen overnight and if it does poverty can happen overnight just as quickly.

Ima trust that gut feeling us gals have. ;)

Crypto is Crashing as I type this. And at some near point in the future it will rally again. But your profit potentials are in the gamble TYPE. It's going down? So Shorts make money then. (Or Stocks. Or RE if the applicable market heads south. The Shorts get paid) So really you need to begin by separating the true "investment" play for an assett from the gambles you can make on it. So for each item in the article, let's evaluate the true VALUE in each "investment" (again let's ignore all the ways one can throw side bets on situations). ITEM: VALUE: Real estate Tax Shelter + Legal Shelter + Long Term Inflation Hedge Stocks & bonds None / Very small % of investments actually create NEW Markets that actually expand global / social wealth / GDP. Think Internet. Or perhaps upcoming Space mining ventures. Best Tax Shelter for Pure Specualtion. It's been a long time since the Internet was new, and yet Tech companies STILL dominate the S&P500. Gold & silver Large Corporations and Countrys use these to increase stability of production/manufacturing/defense . Also financial value stability for those who don't natively bank in USD/EURO/CNY. A store of value that is at serious risk of disruption coming over next 10-100 years. https://theprint.in/opinion/giant-asteroid-has-gold-worth-700-quintillion-but-it-wont-make-us-richer/260482/ Savings account at the bank At current time (pretty much my entire adult life and since the last financial crises - another passed over Millenial priveledge we failed to get that our parents had) None. Interest rates are too low. Uncle Sam is telling you to go spend $ sucker! While both parties continue to print so much $ as to debase our own currency. And the Feds were never wise enough to raise interest rates since 2009, so the stock market and business bubbles inflated to astounding heights due to cheap money. Your gov't doesn't value it's money - so why do you? It's possible this may never be a competitive asset class ever again. Likely Permanently Broken, and to be followed in near future by complete disruption, consider this a Zombie Assett Class like investing in stamps - a relic of past times. Cryptocurrencies (Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.) This is the new internet. This is an emerging economy that's getting created out of nothing - just like the internet was. A major financial/economic boom being created out of knowhere. There are dozens of valid examples out there right now for uses of Crypto's and Block Chain. (Contactless payment anyone?) Right now it's still pretty cheap to be a BTC 1%er (like only $10-15k @ current huge prices). If I was you (but luckily I'm me) I would hedge my bets now as more money is being printed now than at any time every in history; so that if an alternative currency does come into existence it could take complete control of the GLOBAL financial system. Something silly like half a bitcoin makes you a Bitcoin 1%er assuming BTC gets mass adoption. Seems like a no brainer hedge to me. For comparison I have a zero percent chance to become 1%er in any of the other categories due to how large their market size already is and the HUGE number of pre-existing competitors. This is called an Asymetric investment folks. If you don't know how to recognize them by now then I suggest sanding walls over working major finances. (I can really go off if you like this is but scraping the surface of crypto...) Fixed annuities - To the rich/wealthy insurance is a scam. It's really a scam to all of us, just the rest of us are too poor to roll with the financial punches. A badly broken arm would bankrupt many Americans. Unless you are the company selling the annuities or the house running the casino - then this is a sucker bet. U.S. Treasury-issued securities - Unless you are the country selling the securities or the house running the casino - then this is currently a sucker bet. LOL maybe you should have me on the REI podcast give y'all a new tint on money. Think more like Annie Duke's pod cast. Take care and good luck all.