Should you choose stocks or explore a different path for 2026 investments? A detailed comparison of the three major assets

Why the Good Investment Opportunities Are Here

Before considering whether now is the time to invest in stocks, let’s look at what historical data says. The long-term annual average return of the US S&P 500 index is between 9% and 10%, and the performance over the past 5 years has been particularly impressive—up 96% in total. What accounts for such results? Simply put, it’s those publicly traded companies that can sustain profit growth.

Take Coca-Cola as an example. This century-old company’s stock price has been steadily rising, backed by 63 consecutive years of dividend increases. More aggressive investors favor high-growth companies like NVIDIA, which reports double-digit earnings growth each quarter, fueled by booming chip demand that provides a runway for continued gains.

But does this mean you should go all-in on stocks now? Not necessarily. Because there are other options in front of you.

Why Gold and Bitcoin Can Compete with Stocks

In the past 5 years, gold has increased by 118%, with the current price approaching $4,090 per ounce. Even more aggressive assets—Bitcoin—despite dropping over 30% from recent highs, has still gained 362% over 5 years. Currently, Bitcoin’s price is stable at $88.71K.

Why can these two outperform stocks? The reason lies in their fundamentally different value logic. Stock prices fluctuate based on whether companies are profitable, ultimately tied to the performance of the US economy. Gold and Bitcoin, on the other hand, are the opposite—they do not depend on the operational status of any country or company.

Gold serves as a key reserve asset for central banks worldwide, with scarcity supporting its value. Bitcoin derives its value from decentralization, a fixed supply, and network security. This also means that if you are bearish on the US dollar system or want to diversify asset risks, these two assets become hedging options.

How to Allocate Among Stocks, Gold, and Bitcoin

First, be clear: there is no absolute best choice; it all depends on your specific situation.

If your current portfolio only includes stocks and bonds, adding gold or Bitcoin can reduce overall risk.

If you want to increase your exposure to tech stocks, the S&P 500 is a good choice because its largest weights are tech giants like NVIDIA. A low-cost S&P 500 index fund with a fee of just 0.03% can give you broad stock exposure.

For investing in gold and Bitcoin, mature solutions already exist—various ETF products. Gold ETFs eliminate issues related to physical storage and liquidity. Bitcoin ETFs are becoming increasingly popular; for example, a Bitcoin trust ETF established less than two years ago manages over $67 billion, allowing you to hold Bitcoin easily within a regular brokerage account, with better tax advantages.

The True Winning Allocation Strategy

Instead of obsessing over “should I choose A or B,” it’s better to set target allocation ratios first. For example, allocate 3% to gold, 2% to Bitcoin, 70% to stocks, and the rest to bonds. Then, every time you add new funds, distribute them automatically according to this ratio. This removes the guesswork of market timing.

Within stocks, you can still select specific targets—whether to buy consumer giants or tech leaders. But avoid falling into the trap of “stocks vs. gold vs. Bitcoin” as a binary choice.

Final advice: stocks and bonds should still be the core of your portfolio, with gold and Bitcoin as supplements. But if you haven’t started allocating to these alternative assets yet, now might be a good time—using mature ETF platforms to include them in your account, making it easy to track everything within your brokerage app.

For investing in 2026, start early and clarify your allocation logic.