Start building your assets

Let me ask you a question. Do you think that every share of every company in every stock market is going to fall in value for the remainder of this year? If you did, as a fund manager, you would now be shorting. Shorting means you would sell shares now with a view to buying them back in a while for a lower price. Yet almost nobody is shorting at the moment.  Jim Rogers, an American Singapore-based investor and commentator and creator of the Rogers International Commodities Index, was recently broadcasting on local radio in Dubai and saying that he cannot find a single share, or even industry in which he would short at this time. And that includes Bank shares.

 One of the world’s best commodity traders, Jeff Clarke, writes today in
the Daily Crux that ‘commodities are set to explode higher’. “In the
commodity sector, you don't get a more bullish sign than when the
20-day moving average crosses over the 50-day moving average” he states.

Make no mistake, this is still a bear market, and we are only 17 months
into it. However, most bear markets last just 30 months or less. Then
bull markets begin. If you want the big gains of the start of a bull
market, you have to be invested. The safest place to be invested is a
mutual fund which spreads your money across the shares of many
companies in many industries in a country, region or the entire globe.
Commodity mutual funds also exist. Anyone with a bucket full of spare
cash available today could do a lot worse than to invest it right now.
You have to be on the pitch to score a goal.

For people with less available cash consider a regular savings contract
from as little as $150 per month, and participate in tomorrow’s gains.
The fact is that it is the average price you pay for your holdings that
matters. By spreading your contributions over the years you gain the
advantage of buying in bad times as well as good times, and the result
is that you buy funds at an average price which is lower than the price
when you eventually cash in. I presently hold one fund where the share
price is currently $80, because it fell from its peak of $170 a year
ago. But over the years the average price I paid was $64. I’m holding
it, even though I’m in profit, because I expect it to recover to its
previous highest price very quickly in the coming year or two. That’s
when I’ll take the profits.  Buy low and sell high is the way to
success. Right now, there are amazing opportunities to buy low.

What can you do with $150 a month? I suppose you could hire a hotel
room for a night, but your budget wouldn’t stretch to dinner for two as
well. It might pay part of the interest on your credit card bill, or
cover dinner for four at your favourite restaurant. But over time, that
amount begins to create wealth. It’s $18000 over ten years, plus
investment gains.  At 8% per year money doubles in nine years. I expect
far higher returns than that in the coming bull market and you should
too. Why not invest for the education of your children, or for a
deposit for a property, or a dowry, or for your own retirement, or
simply for a rainy day. Security comes to those who have assets in
excess of liabilities. Now is a very good time to start to build those
assets.

{xtypo_rounded2} Helen Dale is a Senior Consultant with
Holborn Assets with over 5 years experience in the Dubai market place. 
Qualified under The Chartered Insurance Institute UK, Helen provides
independent advice to individuals & corporates on insurances,
regular savings & lump sum investments.  Contact Helen {/xtypo_rounded2}