Given the state of the economy what are the best investments? Lets assume a time horizon of 2-4 years; not overly risky but 10% or better ROI would be great.
My initial thoughts:
Housing prices historically indicate that they should go back up right? (how to invest to capitalize in this area? REITS? Mutuals?
Oil prices will likely drop- bet the short?
Other energy areas e.g., Natural Gas?
Thanks!
How much you like to invest ? invest the same in my account 
invest some knowledge hardwork and technical thinkings
There is no one best investment. IMO, investing in myself and own business is best.
I am an active trader in the finance markets, but do not see myself as a long term investor, but as a business that trades these instruments for profit.
- jim http://jsforex.blogspot.com
Diversifying is the “best” overall and long term. Anything else introduces more risk meaning some choices will produce above average returns while others will lose.
If you look at historical figures for home prices in relation to incomes it suggests housing is still way overpriced. You can’t assume they will go back up like they did. Inflation will raise prices in “dollars” but not in real terms.
Historically for like the last 100 years home prices averaged between 3-4 times the median income. Nationally a couple of years ago we were at 6 times household income and places like in Calif., Nev., and Florida they were at 10 times the income.
To bring it back to historical norms, nationally home prices need to fall by 33%. We are down about 15%.
I don’t think people can afford the kind of luxury in the homes they have built. $ 10k worth of granite countertops instead of $ 1k of formica? Separate offices in the home? Jetted tubs? Steam showers? A media room? Three car garages instead of a one car carport? 15 foot ceilings and then they are shocked at the cost to heat them? Wood floors everywhere? That is high maintenace costs too. The average square footage has almost doubled.
The wages the majority make do NOT support that much luxury. I think some big changes are coming. They could only justify such high priced homes as long they continued to increase in value. Now they aren’t.
Invest in ETF’s : ETFs are cheaper than mutual funds. ETFs have very low annual expenses, nearly 20 basis points or 0.2% less. As against this, actively managed mutual funds show average expenses exceeding 135 basis points (1.35%). This does not include the extra 2% – 5% as loads, 12(b)-1 marketing fees, transactions costs, and soft dollar expenses mutual funds, passed on to you but never informed, except in very fine print that nobody cares to read.
ETFs have a lower turnover than most mutual funds. As ETFs do not require active management and hold nearly a steady stream of stocks, there is hardly any portfolio turnover.
http://debts-to-wealth.com/category/Why-Invest-in-Exchange-Traded-Funds.html
Best Investments
Not to be all doom and gloom, but in my opinion, the writing is on the wall regarding the economy, the real estate and financial markets, and I am extremely worried about the future. So what are the best investments during serious recessions or even depressions or hyperinflation? I’m not simply talking about securing/holding onto current value, but to take advantage of the situation.
I.e., what were the best investments during the Great Depression? Gold? Other precious metals/natural resources?
According to Mary Kay Ash, makeup sales went up in the Depression due to an increase in prostitution.
I think gold would be a safe assett.
The best Investments in a depression are much different to ones in hyperinflation. A correction in Real Estate or Financial Markets will hardly equal a world depression.
But to answer your question basically for Depression you want high quality guaranteed government long term bonds and for hyperinflation you would turn to precious metals
When things seem the worst, that is the best time for investing. They are not making any more land (except in Hawaii), so investing in real estate is a good thing, as long as you can pay the taxes while you are waiting for things to recover.
People that invested in the orange groves around Los Angles in The Great Depression became very rich in the years that followed.
any decision is not a rule .but the only exception to this rule that I can think of . in foreign investment . its the best business .i meant out of the country
Gold is the standard hedge against inflation, and down markets usually happen at the same time. The reality is that gold itself never truly changes in value, it is the constant… all other currency or specie changes value around the constant of gold.
Best example I can give is this: One ounce of gold will buy a man a good suite of clothes. This does not mean the finest clothing there is, but what is considered good. This valuation has held true for centuries.
Altria.
im am 16 years old and just starting off in the stock market. I have $ 7000 to put in, i know how the market works but what is the best business to invest in? i am on a 10 year plan until i can take out the money. thanks, oh yes i almost forgot tips will be great also. Thanks again!!
summer job and never spending birthday money =)
and i have $ 15000 in bonds so it will increase. i will get it when i am 25.
Where does a 16 year old get $ 7,000!
wow…16yr old and already start planning…that’s great!!! maybe u wana check out this website www.wdf-usa.com maybe will not last ten years but at least 3 years from now… have a nice day!! cheers! mitcolt@yahoo.com
Put your money in the bank and forget about it.
What subject or subjects interest you now?
If you know the answer to this Q, invest one hour – 60 minutes per day – reading about that subject or those subjects. You can get those books at your local library AND some additional, more current info on line.
IF you discover a book you would like to have in your own home library, THEN invest the money to buy that book or those books.
2 comments:
1] The only stupid Q is the Q you don’t ask.
2] So you thought and think education is expensive? Just wait until you try ignorance.
Thanks for asking your Q. I enjoyed taking the time to answer it.
VTY,
Ron Berue
Yes, that is my real last name. .
Hi firend mutual fund can help you a lot.Just take a look at the below link to get free information regarding stock market.
You need good advice.
Try Morningstar University. It’s free.
Mutual funds are a better bet than stocks for most people. especially those with under $ 1,000,000
Once you know how stocks and mutuals work, subscribe to Hulber’s Financial Digest, find the best newsletter that suits your goals, subscribe to it and follow it religiously.
Impressive, congratulations.
Keep some in savings, but take a gander at these exchange traded funds (ETFs), which trade like common stocks but are very low cost mutual funds that simply buy a preset basket of stocks: NY (100 biggest companies on the New York Stock Exchange), DIA (the Dow Jones Industrial Average), SPY (the Standard & Poors 500 companies), DVY (Dow Jones select Dividend Yield stocks), IOO (100 biggest publicly-traded companies in the world), and PXN (the biggest players in nanotechnology, the next big thing in technology, some amazing stuff coming). Mix and match as you feel comfortable. These are things that you can buy and simply forget them, low maintenance investments in some of the biggest and best companies around. If any of these funds fold, well the global economy would have to be in such a wreck that it wouldn’t matter where you had your money.
With $ 7000 to invest and a 10 year plan, I would suggest a diversified portfolio. But first, the investments: 1 CD’s will get you roughly 5-5.5% interest per year and no risk. 2 AA corp. bonds yield 5-6.5% some risk, mainly from increase in rate increases. Stay away from all collatteral bonds. Mutual funds range from low to high risk. Rate of return can be from 8 to 15+%. Go to Morningstar,com which rates over 1400 funds. Pick 7 funds with 5 star ratings. You probably need a parental custodial account. Learn all you can about the funds industry. No stocks!
the best bet is to diversify away systematic risk that is company specific risk. that being said you should look for index funds that mimic the market. you should also look for foreign index funds. sharebuilder.com is a great site to open an account with and they have a free investment guide.
