To be an accredited investor in the US one must have a net worth of a least 1M US dollars excluding the value of one's primary residence or have income of at least $200k for the last two years (or $300k combined income if married) and expect to make that much this year.
Investors can fund startups or small business in exchange for equity (or ownership in the business). As a business succeeds the value of an investor's equity increases. These investments are very risky and your money will have to remain invested for many years. High risk, high return option.
You can think of an ETF as a whole bunch of stocks in one. For example, a very popular ETF is VTI which stands for Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF. By buying this one ETF you are essentially investing in the entire US stock market. Buying ETFs is generally less risky than buying individual stocks because of diversification.
Peer-to-peer lending, sometimes abbreviated P2P lending, is the practice of lending money to individuals or businesses through online services that match lenders directly with borrowers. This is a pretty safe option but you will not be able to withdraw your full investment for 3-5 years. However, you will receive loan repayments on a monthly basis.
A robo-advisor helps you invest in a balanced portfolio of ETFs/index funds using automated algorithms instead of a human advisor as is done traditionally. We recommend starting here if you are a first time investor because it is less risky than buying individual stocks and you can withdraw your money whenever you want.
Allows you to invest in real estate with less money than is required for a down payment on your own property. You can choose to invest in real estate loans (loan money to property developers) or real estate equity (own a percentage of a property). Loans are lower risk, lower return since your return is just the interest on the loan while equity is higher risk, higher return because your return is tied directly to the value of the property (which can rise or fall). These investments are pretty risky and you will need to keep your money invested for at least 6 months.