During the last 18 months or so, the world has seen a financial meltdown. Markets are slipping, blue chip companies are laying off workers by the thousand. Hundreds of thousands of people in the United States have either seen their homes decline in value until they were worth less than when they bought them or have lost their homes entirely.

None of the above economics signals bodes well for any decent and safe investment opportunities. There are however still quite a number of low-risk investment options that can generate a decent return.

Of course, even in good economic times any investment carries a certain percentage of risk. Keeping that in mind, there are four investment avenues that show stable rates and offer guaranteed returns unavailable in areas like stock investing. Lower risk also offers lower returns, but if you still want to invest, take the time to research the following options.

• Certificates of Deposit. CDs can be purchased at any bank, carry an interest rate fixed at the current Annual Percentage Rate, can be purchased for sometimes less than $1,000. Once you buy a CD you will receive the interest rate the bank is offering, and receive the interest payments over the term of the CD. At the end of this term you will receive your principal back. There is a penalty for early withdrawal so if you are considering backing out, while your principle will stay intact, you will lose a significant amount of accrued interest.

• Bonds: Bonds are investments in government or municipal corporations. You are investing in the entity and in return you are getting a guarantee of the return of your principle plus interest payments for the term of the bond. As with CDs, at the end of the term you will receive your principle back. As an added benefit Bonds can also be traded like stocks.

• Money Market Mutual Funds: Money market mutual funds are much more stable than the mutual funds that are traded on the market because they are invested with cash assets that increase at about 5% per year. Being associated with the money market makes them much less a risk to your portfolio and easier to anticipate than regular mutual funds.

• Savings Accounts: Setting up a savings account should be the bedrock of anyone’s portfolio. While the interest rates are not high (usually well under 3%) your money is much more accessible than it would be on one of the term options.

So there are safer options for investing your money during slow economic times. The best bet is to use these options to slowly increase you capital until times improve.

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