It is the question everyone is asking today, “Where should I invest money?” For those that have some cash set aside to make an investment with – this is a good problem to have. We will take a look at the prevailing opportunities today that are making headlines and say a word or two about the pros and cons of each asset.
Is Now the Time to Be Investing in Gold?
It’s a very popular topic amongst a lot of the fringe public preparing for doomsday (the day the US government abandons the dollar), but this idea of buying some gold is not a fringe concept. Many of the leading investors in the world hold precious metals and other non-financial assets in their portfolios as stores of wealth. These savvy investors also know however that gold or silver as an asset does not earn income or produce anything beyond its physical existence. As a result non-financial / non-real estate assets like commodities rarely form more than 5% of a total portfolio, and only in extremely rare cases does it form 10%. Yet it does form some part of the asset mix. Get it? Today may or may not be the time to be investing in gold but given most smart traders have some it probably isn’t a bad idea to consider the precious metal as part of a balanced portfolio.
Are Stocks a Good Buy Right Now
Another time-honored question in the marketplace asks whether now is the right time to buy stocks. Like any other asset acquisition question the right time to buy depends on the investor’s current portfolio and any future plans for the money being used. If the horizon is long-term than it probably is a good idea to have some of your money locked up in quality brand name companies. When all else fails try to do what the smart people do right? Warren Buffett holds Coke and GEICO – solid brand names with long earnings history. Are you going to get a fair price to buy those companies today? Probably not but if you have them on your radar or stock-watching software then when the price drops you will be in the position to buy with the money you have set aside for that stock.
Where Should I Invest Money to Make Money Today
This is a much more difficult question to answer. It is almost less a question of where should I invest money but when should I do it and for how long. Short term trading decisions are fraught with a great deal more risk than longer-term investments which tend to even out over time. Short term efforts to make money trading in and out of the market proved disastrous for many individuals (after admittedly a great run in the 1990s). It is for this reason that day traders have gone toward much shorter investment horizons and required much higher returns for their level of risk. It is not my recommendation to try day trading unless you are using money that you can afford to lose – because odds are at some point day traders all experiences losses at one time or another.