We all dream of throwing away some money into investments and seeing that money grow. In hindsight, we’ve seen plenty of fortunes made via this means and always wish that we were a part of it.

As a result, people are always chasing the next big thing in the investment world to try to maximize their returns. About ten years ago, we saw a huge boom in Internet stocks. Even though things eventually crashed, some fortunes were made in the process.

The present day investment environment brings about a lot of opportunity. Whether you feel that the market is on its way up or down from here, one thing is for sure. The market is extremely volatile.

Despite the fact that many are down on their investments, there are others who have played the market just right, making huge returns in the process. Here are some of the places their money has been.

Perhaps the biggest fad in today’s market is that of the ETF, which stands for exchange-traded fund. Whether you’re buying an ETF that’s tied to the banking industry, the energy industry, or the overall market as a whole, there are plenty of ways to profit from an ETF and they all involve the directional movements of certain industries.

If you want something even more speculative than ETFs, try playing around in the options markets. By buying a contract tied directly to the future value of a stock, you can make huge multiples on your money. Then again, you can lose it all too, so tread carefully with stock options.

Lastly, the foreign exchange currencies market has caught on like wildfire in recent years. Many Forex traders have made fortunes on movements in currencies over very short periods of time. Forex trading involves a high tolerance for risk, but the reward opportunity is most certainly there.

Try any of these out if you’re short on investment ideas. Just remember though – where there’s reward, there’s risk.

Ivybot is a widely popular Forex trading robot. Read this author’s critique of the product, which dispels the concerns of an Ivybot ripoff.