Profit on time: gold became the most profitable asset in 2025

Gold became the most profitable investment asset of 2025 - with a conservative strategy, it could bring 25% of income from January, Izvestia found out. Corporate bonds and ruble deposits with yields of about 21% were only slightly inferior to it. The dollar and bitcoin showed the worst results. Despite the fact that the cryptocurrency turned out to be the leader last year, in 2025, about a third of investments could be lost on these assets. See the Izvestia article on which tools you should pay attention to next year.

Which investment tools were profitable in 2025

Among the most common investment assets, gold became the most profitable in 2025, according to FinExpertiza data (Izvestia has it). Analysts calculated how much income could be obtained from investing 100 thousand rubles in various instruments in early 2025 with profit-taking after 12 months. They compared how much conservative investments in precious metals, deposits, bonds, real estate, stocks, currency and crypto would bring.

During the year, gold quotes on international markets fluctuated moderately, and the ruble price was formed taking into account the global value of an ounce and the dollar's exchange rate against the national currency. An investor who invested in gold could receive 24.6 thousand profit after paying income tax.

Other, less popular precious metals could also bring high returns. For example, silver has risen in price by 45% over the year, and platinum by 70%, added Alexander Bakhtin, an investment strategist at Garda Capital.

The conservatives, who chose corporate bonds to make a profit, would have made decent money. They were able to receive an additional 21.5 thousand after paying the tax. The study emphasized that the market was supported by high coupon rates on previously placed securities, reduced uncertainty and steady investor demand for securities from reliable issuers.

The three leaders were rounded out by the easiest way to save money — a bank deposit. Until June 2025, the Bank of Russia kept the key rate at a record high of 21%, and only in early summer began to gradually reduce it. At the last meeting in December, the Central Bank lowered it to 16%. Such a tight monetary policy has allowed deposits to remain attractive to private investors. Placing 100,000 at the beginning of 2025 with funds withheld until the end of the year would have brought 21.4 thousand in revenue.

The fourth and fifth places in the rating of investment tools were taken by federal government bonds (OFZ) and investments in real estate. Despite the continued sensitivity to rates, OFZs have resumed their function as a basic conservative instrument. If they were bought for 100 thousand, the investor would receive 19.7 thousand rubles.

At the same time, real estate investments continue to be more of a capital preservation tool. Buying your own home is now problematic for most people due to high interest rates and limited access to debt financing. Nevertheless, with a single investment, the average investor would earn about 10.4 thousand rubles for every 100 thousand invested after taxes.

The Russian stock market turned out to be even less successful for investments — it showed little dynamics. The high key interest rate restrained demand for stocks, making debt instruments less attractive, and geopolitical uncertainty increased market volatility. Corporate factors also exerted pressure, such as the dividend policy and weak results of a number of companies, primarily in the oil and gas sector. As a result, the Moscow Exchange's full yield index showed a slight increase — an investment of 100 thousand would have brought only about 2.7 thousand nominal profits.

What assets could investors have lost money on?

In 2025, several popular financial instruments turned out to be unprofitable. So, investments in bitcoin showed the worst results. If in the past two years the cryptocurrency was the absolute leader in profitability, now it has lost ground. The dynamics were influenced by a cooling of interest, a decrease in liquidity on global markets and the strengthening of the ruble.

Volatility remained high, but short-term growth impulses could not compensate for the overall decline in quotations. A conservative investor who invested 100,000 rubles in bitcoin and held it all year without reselling it would have lost 32.8 thousand rubles.

Investments in toxic currencies were also outsiders. Investing 100 thousand in US dollars would bring losses of 28.6 thousand, and about 18.3 thousand in euros. This was due to the strengthening of the national currency, lower volatility of global markets and the gradual stabilization of the economic situation after the sharp fluctuations of previous years. Foreign currency deposits also proved to be unprofitable. A contribution to the "American" would bring a loss of 22.4 thousand, and a deposit in euros would bring a loss of 9.1 thousand rubles.

Investments in the Chinese yuan also proved to be unprofitable, despite the fact that the currency was one of the key instruments of Russia's international settlements.

Threshold of abundance: precious metals prices break records

How much could you earn from investments in gold, silver or platinum since the beginning of the year

What to invest in in 2026

Next year, deposit rates will continue to decline as the Central Bank's monetary policy eases. This makes long-term bonds one of the key instruments: due to the growth of their market value, investors can get returns exceeding 20% per annum, says Vladimir Levchenko, a financial analyst and expert at the Stolypin Institute of Growth Economics.

Huseyn Rzayev, a personal broker at BCS World of Investments, agreed with this. In his opinion, long-term OFZs may also become one of the most profitable assets next year. If the key rate reduction cycle continues to 12%, their profitability may reach 25-30%.

There is a potential for recovery in the stock market after a noticeable decline in the indices, Vladimir Levchenko added. Companies focused on domestic demand look more promising.

The Russian primary market is capable of experiencing a renaissance, Dmitry Tselishchev, managing director of the investment company Rikom-Trust, believes. In such circumstances, investors, in his opinion, should look in advance at both future IPOs and companies already listed on the stock exchange with a transparent strategy, stable cash flows and steady dividend payments.

Yulia Afanasyeva, an analyst at Finam Financial Group, cited the example of Ozon, Polyus, PhosAgro and Yandex stocks — these securities have not always been growth favorites, but since 2020 they have practically no downward trends.