Investing Strategies & Returns: How to Make Your Money Grow

[arunbg]

I rarely find threads(actually never) related to this topic on PF.
Quite recently, my dad started investing in the stock market. With the market bullish, it is possible to make in a day's trading, what banks return in a year on fixed deposits. Now my dad laments having missed out on large returns by investing all these years in banks. There was a story of a guy who starting with little more than a 100 dollars in stock, over the years accumulated a net asset value of 10 million usd! The advertisements seen most on TV today are asset management related, even insurance related to the market. One can only hope the trend is maintained. Real estate also looks good, from where we live.

So what are your investment strategies and how are your investments doing as of now?

 

[Andre]

There are also guys who start with 10 millions to end up with less than a 100 dollars in stock.

 

[arunbg]

There are also guys who start with 10 millions to end up with less than a 100 dollars in stock.

Indeed, which kind of makes me wonder how they got the 10 million in the first place.

 

[binzing]

I play VSE (Virtual Stock Exchange), which uses the real values from the NYSE. It's pretty cool.

 

[wolram]

If i could i would invest in scrap metals or pawn shops not (porn) but then again -------.

 

[binzing]

Hey Wolram, check out VSE, then you can see what its like to invest.

 

[wolram]

Hey Wolram, check out VSE, then you can see what its like to invest.

May be i will, i have to much sitting in bank accounts doing nothing.

 

[binzing]

Its free mate! But if you find your good at the game, then you might wager to do it for real.

 

[Astronuc]

So what are your investment strategies and how are your investments doing as of now?

Do your homework. Look for solid companies with reasonable rates of return. One has to understand the cyclical nature of some sectors of the economy.

Banks were doing well until quite a number revealed bad assets in sub-prime mortgages, but if one had bought Countrywide Financial a few days ago, one could have made a 50% gain in one day after Bank of America offered to by CW.

If one had purchased airline stocks on 9/11, one could have done well when they recovered.

IBM, GE, ExxonMobil are some biggies, which are stable. BHP Billiton would be an interesting one to look at.

Service Corporation International has products and services which will always be in demand.

But one must do homework, otherwise one is simply gambling, which is never wise.

 

[binzing]

I'm so against Big Oil that even in a game like VSE I won't invest in them. If you new what they were really like, like living here in Northern New Mexico, with literally thousands of miles of oil roads, you wouldn't like them either. Half of the workers are either methheads in the field or a drunk.(Don't quote me its personal opinion, but close)

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Look into an alternative energy ETF, I think it's symbol GEX. Not doing great right now, but it's something that should be good in the future.

Right now I'm pumping SDTH. Research and let me know what you think.

 

[arunbg]

Hey wolram, you can even have experts do the investing part for you. Mutual funds is one such scheme, and here in India it has grown into big business. You simply have to deposit so and so amount, and they will do all the investing for you.
The downside is that you have to pay for their expertise, although I don't think they charge all that much. For years in a row now, mutual funds here have been doing consistently well, many of them returning around 50%. Now that's a lot compared to a bank.
Although I don't know what the bank interest rates in UK are right now, I am sure stocks can give better returns. Hmm, I wonder if I could invest in turbo's garden, man that place must be gushing cash

 

[dst]

May be i will, i have to much sitting in bank accounts doing nothing.

Oh poor you, what a huge problem

Maybe I could help alleviate that ;) VSE, looks good. Thanks.