30k to invest, any suggestions

gordon_gekko

Fiachra2 wrote: »

I was surprised too.

Basically they appreciate because demand far exceeds supply. There are a very limited number of Parks and no new ones being built (prresumably because of sewerag etc) and there is a huge demand.

Bear in mind these structures are much more long lasting than a car. They are in fact a common form of dwelling in the US. There is one near my parents house which must be at least 40 years old and appears to be in perfect condition.

im still skeptical about this story

edzillion

I have only been skimming this thread, but a lot of people seem to be giving advice on individual shares to invest in.
Thats fine for someone who has a lot of time to invest in looking into results, stats etc, but I gather the orig poster isn't that kind of person. Oh and it requires talent. Be prepared to lose a lot of money before you find out if you have talent or not (perhaps play the market on a virtual trading system first?)

A much better option is to invest in tracker funds. The south american ones have been performing very well over the last few years, though most agree that they will slow down somewhat due to the accepted world recession that is already biting.

Even better, invest some in commodities. My personal favourite is silver. The fundamentals are the strongest of any precious metals, and before I hear "the gold bull has ended" think about this:

• Nearly all other traded commods have hit all time real-highs
• Gold recently hit its all time nominal high
• Silver is about a third of its all time nominal high

There is a very good article on silver here:
Why the Silver Price is set to Soar

edit: forgot to mention the watchword of sensible investing: "Diversify!"

superfly

can i interest you in these magic beans?

superfly

edzillion

@superfly

are you referring to my post?

kaiser sauze

edzillion wrote: »

I have only been skimming this thread, but a lot of people seem to be giving advice on individual shares to invest in.
Thats fine for someone who has a lot of time to invest in looking into results, stats etc, but I gather the orig poster isn't that kind of person. Oh and it requires talent. Be prepared to lose a lot of money before you find out if you have talent or not (perhaps play the market on a virtual trading system first?)

A much better option is to invest in tracker funds. The south american ones have been performing very well over the last few years, though most agree that they will slow down somewhat due to the accepted world recession that is already biting.

Even better, invest some in commodities. My personal favourite is silver. The fundamentals are the strongest of any precious metals, and before I hear "the gold bull has ended" think about this:

• Nearly all other traded commods have hit all time real-highs
• Gold recently hit its all time nominal high
• Silver is about a third of its all time nominal high

There is a very good article on silver here:
Why the Silver Price is set to Soar

edit: forgot to mention the watchword of sensible investing: "Diversify!"

Damn; damn those sigs to endless hell!

Fiachra2

I dont know anything about this kind of investing but if all these commodities are at all time highs is that not a bad time to buy?

edzillion

I dont know anything about this kind of investing but if all these commodities are at all time highs is that not a bad time to buy?

Well if you read what I was saying; most commodities have hit all time highs - wheat, sugar, oil.

There is an interesting tool here that calculates values of historical prices in real terms:

Gold all time high: $850 in 1980 = $2,139.36 2007 dollars*
current price $922 = 43% of all time high

Silver all time high: $50 in 1980 = $125.84 in 2007 dollars*
current price $18 = 14% of all time high

*these figures are calculated from the CPI, which is acknowledged by nearly everyone to be a very low estimate of real inflation. 2008 figures not available yet (though likely to be significantly higher)

radioactiveman

If you're not an experienced investor, go with a fund that tracks an entire index, like the top 20 Irish shares, or Eurostoxx 50 for the top 50 companies. That way you'll always be invested the top 20 companies (or whatever) - I think only about 25% of professional fund managers actually beat the index on a sustained basis, meaning about 75% of them managing portfolios they think will beat the general market only match it, or come in with results below it. I think Warren Buffet has said as well that it's probably the best way to go for Joe Soap who is not accustomed to spotting good opportunities.

Paying into the mortgage is a good idea, and safe, but the return will not be higher than the rate of interest. If the same money is invested you will probably get more than that over time due to dividends being paid out on the stocks as well as increase in value.. Also you won't have every red cent you own held in your house. Plus at the end of your investment period you still have the option of paying it into your mortgage.
As an alternative to investing in commodities directly you could invest in some oil companies, or food companies.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Fighting Irish

in