What would you invest your money in

PH01

With deposit rates low and continued falling stock rates where would you invest your money in to maximise your return in five years or so?

hmmm

Equities - Everyone sells at the bottom and buys at the top - sheeple.

mike65

Trees! Well commercial forrestry, a return of about 10% pa tax free. Not a fortune to be made but soild.

Mike.

PH01

Originally posted by hmmm
Equities - Everyone sells at the bottom and buys at the top - sheeple.

A lot of people are saying that we're at the bottom but I'm not too sure? It'll probably get worse before it gets better.

RainyDay

I'd plump for equities every time, on the assumption that it's a long term investment (i.e. 5 years or more). In particular, regular purchases through a low-charting Unit Linked fund (like Quinn Life or EBS) will ensure that you get the advantage of the rising market when it comes. Note that the current 3-year drop in the market hasn't been seen since 1939-1941 - so unless you believe that something has fundamentally changed the world economy to knock it out of it's traditional cyclical pattern, you can be sure that things will start picking up.

Would any of those who plumped for property care to explain their rationale?

Trees! Well commercial forrestry, a return of about 10% pa tax free. Not a fortune to be made but soild.

Mike - Is this from personal experience? What was the term of this investment? What were the mechanisms for selling out early?

Cheers - RainyDay

mike65

quote:

Trees! Well commercial forrestry, a return of about 10% pa tax free. Not a fortune to be made but soild.


Mike - Is this from personal experience? What was the term of this investment? What were the mechanisms for selling out early?

Cheers - RainyDay

At the mo I have a single share in the 7th IFF a 30 year fund which can be exited at any time simply by selling the share on the "market" ie to fellow investors in the fund. I 'll be investing again in the spring when the next fund begins.

These days funds are only 5 years long, but you can always roll-forward the value of the shares into the next fund.

www.irish-forestry.ie for details.

Mike.

RainyDay

Hi Mike - I had a look at these forestry funds some time back, but I had a couple of substantial concerns;

1) There is no information about the 'liquidity' of the market (i.e. volume of buyers & sellers, volume/price history for transactions). Therefore, it's difficult to judge what price you may get for your investment if/when you want to sell out. Indeed, it's difficult to see if there is likely to be a buyer willing to buy when you want to sell. This contrasts with the equitities markets where price/volume information are widely available, and most major markets are highly liquid (i.e. lots of buyers available, at the right price).

2) There seemed to be a number of mechanisms for money to be 'sucked' out of the main funds into the hands of the promoters. I see from Note 15 to the 2000 Annual Accounts that additional payments of over €100k were made to 'Irish Forestry Services' to cover 'share marketing' costs and 'commisions on funds raised' - Why would directors be paying another company (which they happen to own) for these services? Have we any evidence as to what services were provided, and what would have been typical market rates for these services?

Hence my decision to keep away from this one. You can read more on this topic at
this thread on Askaboutmoney.com.

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If you have the capital available, Property is the place to be. Its a revenue stream in itself and barring acts of God will not devalue or even stagnate.

For the small investor, equities are ideal. You really need to keep an eye on the market though I dont have the time to do so like I used to. Still though I reckon if I cashed a in few sound investments I've made over the years, I be half way to a deposit for a house