In your opinion, what would be the safest investment today? Of course, I understand it may depend on amount you have, the country you live in, but I'd like to hear your opinion on what is the "safest" bet.
A very tricky question. Tricky because "safe" includes several factors.
Many currencies saw a huge expansion of money handed out by the central banks. Very likely they are overvalued currently, because the real economics in the countries where these currencies are used did not grow accordingly, neither did accumulated assets.
Therefore it is likely that they will undergo some correction in the future. How far in future? Impossible to say ... but if you assume a correction in near future, any investement in money will not be "safe".
- In some countries the prices for land seem to be rising, or at least be stable. There an investment in land ownership might be a good idea. You can rent this land to farmers or other people who want to work with the land.
- Similarily buildings. Just very tricky to know where buildings are overprized already, because so many tried to evade the money problems sketched above and invested in buildings already.
- Infrastructure. Water supply, roads, railroads. While not typical crisis investments, I think that in the current situation these are promising investments. If you don't have a lot of money, group up with other investors.
- The classic: Noble metals. From single coins for small investments, up to ingots. These are likely to do well in times of economic crisis, particularly when money is devalued.
- Food production: Yes, a very difficult area, but eating is one of the most basic and important thing for humans. One can stop to spend money on many things, but food will be the last. So if you expect a crisis, be sure you are on the producer side of food, not the consumer side. Food prices skyrocket in crisis times.
I suggest these because I expect a currency devaluement for the dollar as well as the euro and the yen rather soon. Company shares might be an option, but since the question was about safe investements, they seem to volatile.
And yes, I'm paranoid. So some of the suggestions conisder the least loss in case of a crisis, not the biggest win.
Before one writes about risk, it helps to understand what risk is and what it isn't.
Is safety not the lack of risks? Certainly there is nothing safe in speculation.Even that you quote my posting, I don't think your answer was in regard to me. I didn't use the word risk at all. You've been the first in this thread to use it. My posting was about safety, investements which are likely to keep their value even in times of a crisis, or, to minimze the expectable loss in times of a crisis.
I don't believe there is an absolute safe bet. If you shoot to buy low and sell high, your chances of success should be good. Also, timing is absolutely imperative. A lot of people jump into the game when it is hot, often paying premium prices for their share, when the best time to invest is while everyone is trying to get out.In your opinion, what would be the safest investment today? Of course, I understand it may depend on amount you have, the country you live in, but I'd like to hear your opinion on what is the "safest" bet.
“Be Fearful When Others Are Greedy and Greedy When Others Are Fearful”
― Warren Buffett
In your opinion, what would be the safest investment today? Of course, I understand it may depend on amount you have, the country you live in, but I'd like to hear your opinion on what is the "safest" bet.
*cough* thread necromancy *cough*
I mean - almost 8 years??
Just out of curiosity, what class of asset has done best since Feb 2016? - and let's exclude the "C" word.
I know UK stocks have done abysmally compared to US (c.25% growth in FTSE 100 cf. DOW almost doubling and S&P more than).
House prices here have gone up c.50% in that time, but unless you're downsizing, or moving to a lower-priced area, or have multiple homes, then this isn't really applicable.
We do now have some savings rates that are above inflation, so they're good and safe. Our inflation is c.4.7% and you can get savings rates of over 5%.
And if your mortgage is now 5%+ then paying that off is saving you that much in interest. But it does tie your money down.