{"id":19221,"date":"2023-10-16T17:51:09","date_gmt":"2023-10-16T17:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wallstreetzen.com\/blog\/?p=19221"},"modified":"2025-08-13T18:57:51","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T18:57:51","slug":"best-passive-income-investments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wallstreetzen.com\/blog\/best-passive-income-investments\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Best Passive Income Investments & Ideas that Work in 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Warren Buffett famously said, \u201cMake money while you sleep or work until you die.\u201d It sounds harsh, but it\u2019s true. Passive income is the holy grail of investing. You need to stop trading your time for money if you want to become wealthy, and the way to do that is through passive income investments. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Passive income is all about making money without continuously expending effort. There are various degrees of passive income, with some requiring more effort upfront than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they all share the common characteristic that once everything is set up, you don\u2019t have to do much to reap the benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, I\u2019m going to cover what I believe are some of the best passive income investments. These passive income investment ideas cover a range of risk-reward profiles, so you should be able to find one that suits your investment goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At-a-Glance: Best Passive Income Investments <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Investment<\/div><\/th>
How Passive?<\/div><\/th>
Suggested Platform<\/div><\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Dividend Stocks<\/div><\/td>
\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/strong><\/div><\/td>
moomoo<\/a><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Fractional Real Estate<\/div><\/td>
\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/strong><\/div><\/td>
Yieldstreet<\/a>\u00a0or Arrived<\/a><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
REITs<\/div><\/td>
\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/strong><\/div><\/td>
moomoo<\/a><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Invest in Businesses<\/div><\/td>
\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/strong><\/div><\/td>
Hiive<\/a><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
High-Yield Savings Account<\/div><\/td>
\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/strong><\/div><\/td>
CIT Bank<\/a><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Recurring Investments <\/div><\/td>
\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/strong><\/div><\/td>
Fundrise<\/a><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Spare Change<\/div><\/td>
\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/strong><\/div><\/td>
Acorns<\/a><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Government Bonds <\/div><\/td>
\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/strong><\/div><\/td>
Public<\/a><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Rent out Your Stuff<\/div><\/td>
\u2b50<\/strong><\/div><\/td>
Turo<\/a> <\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Peer-to-Peer Lending <\/div><\/td>
\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/strong><\/div><\/td>
Yieldstreet<\/a><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Lend\/Stake Cryptocurrency<\/div><\/td>
\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/strong><\/div><\/td>
Binance<\/a><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Invest in Businesses<\/div><\/td>
\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/strong><\/div><\/td>
Equitybee<\/a><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Create a Course <\/div><\/td>
\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50 <\/strong>(after it\u2019s created)<\/div><\/td>
Skillshare <\/a><\/div><\/td><\/tr>
Invest in alternative assets<\/div><\/td>
\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/strong><\/div><\/td>
Masterworks <\/a><\/div><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n
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Note: We earn a commission for this endorsement of Fundrise. <\/p>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

1. Dividend Stocks <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How passive? \u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dividend stocks are one of the purest passive income assets because they require almost zero effort on your part besides buying the stock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most dividend stocks pay investors a fixed amount per share quarterly, so you get predictable recurring income above and beyond any appreciation gains you get when the stock price increases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are tons of dividend stocks out there for you to choose from. My favorite way to research dividend stocks to find good investment opportunities is to use Wallstreetzen\u2019s stock screener<\/a> to filter by companies that offer dividend yields.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Once you find a few dividend stocks you\u2019re interested in, you can use a retail-friendly broker like moomoo to buy and sell shares. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0I like moomoo because its user interface is easy to use but still high-powered enough to keep track of your investments. Plus, its intro special is second to none…<\/p>\n\n\n

Up to $1000 in NVDA shares with qualified deposit+ limited time 8.1% APY \r\n\r\n 1. 8.1% APY Cash Sweep: Enroll and activate to get 4.1% APY base rate + 4% APY booster for 3 months\r\n\r\nNVDA Promotion \r\n\r\n-Deposit $100 and get $20 NVDA shares\r\n-Deposit $2,000, and receive total $50 NVDA shares\r\n-Deposit $10,000 and receive total $300 NVDA shares\r\n-Deposit $50,000 and receive total $1000 NVDA shares<\/div>\n\n\n

(Terms and conditions apply \u2014 get the offer here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The platform also gives you access to dividend ETFs and lets you mirror the investment strategies of investors you believe are making the right calls, so you can achieve passive income here more easily than you can on many other platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Get up to $1000 in NVDA stock on moomoo<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

2. Rental Income<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How passive? \u2b50\u2b50 as a property owner; \u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50 for fractional ownership<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rental income is passive until it\u2019s not. When your tenants don\u2019t need anything, rental income is truly passive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when something goes wrong and needs repairing, managing a rental property can quickly turn into a headache. One way to avoid the hassle of owning your own rental property is to use a crowdfunding platform like Yieldstreet<\/a> or Arrived<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arrived<\/a> is one of the best ways to make passive income through real estate for non-accredited investors. The platform lets you buy shares of an income-generating property the same way you buy shares of a company on the stock market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The learning curve is very shallow, and it\u2019s a great place for beginners to start.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Want to learn more? Check out our Arrived (formerly Arrived Homes) review<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n\n\n

Yieldstreet<\/a> is a better way to invest in private real estate projects. It\u2019s only available to accredited investors, although the company does offer the YieldStreet Prism Fund for non-accredited investors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless of how you invest on the platform, it provides access to tons of unique private real estate investment opportunities you can\u2019t get anywhere else.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"passive<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
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Check out Yieldstreet<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

3. REITs <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How passive? \u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If owning your own rental property is too much work, and you\u2019re not interested in crowdfunded real estate, Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) might be right up your alley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

REITs are traded on public exchanges just like index funds and sector funds, so buying them is as easy as buying stocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can purchase a whole host of REITs through moomoo<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to do your own research, Wallstreetzen has tools to help you compare different REITs<\/a> and choose the one that\u2019s best for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Check out moomoo<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

4. Invest in Pre-IPO Companies <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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You can become an investor in private companies like Stripe<\/a>, Discord<\/a>, and Databricks<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hiive<\/a> gives accredited investors access to hundreds of high-growth, VC-backed startups. By funding employee stock options, investors like you can gain exposure to private companies at past valuations. In exchange for funding the options, you will receive a percentage of future proceeds from successful liquidity events.<\/span><\/p>\n

Start investing in private companies on <\/span>Hiive<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n



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How passive? \u2b50\u2b50\u2b50\u2b50<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hiive<\/a> is a potentially good way to become an investor in private companies like Groq<\/a>, Tekion<\/a>, and Waymo<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hiive gives accredited investors access to thousands of high-growth, VC-backed startups. By buying shares from employees, venture capital firms, or angel investors, accredited investors can own stakes in private companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Check out Hiive<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

In addition to Hiive, there are a few online brokers who invest in pre-IPO companies and will sell them to their customers as a perk for having an account with them. Not all brokers invest in private companies, and the ones that do won’t provide access to every new IPO.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a few brokers that provide access to pre-IPO stocks:<\/p>\n\n\n

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