Although most Americans have money socked away in the stock market, that isn't what they see as the best long-term investment, according to a new survey from Gallup. So what is?That would be real estate, with 36% of respondents pointing to that old pillar of the American Dream as the best place to invest their money, the polling organization found in its annual economy and personal finance survey. Stocks ranked second, with 22% rating it as the best choice for returns over time.
That's little changed from last year's survey, but reflects one of the highest rates of stock ownership since 1998, when the organization started tracking the measure.Gallup based its finding on an April telephone survey of roughly 1,000 adults living across the U.S.Is gold a good investment?Meanwhile, about 18% of those polled said they viewed gold as providing the best long-term returns, down from 25% a year earlier.