So I have recently made a decision to offload my bullion and collectables - both online bullion and my coins, nuggets and bars. About 14 grand's worth all told. Reason being? Well, I am currently in a minimalist phase, and am looking to offload some physical stuff. That's one reason. Another is that I am keen for a bit more liquidity in my investments. A third is that while gold and silver are safe haven investments and will grow in the long-term, they don't provide a return in the meantime. That ongoing return is what I am after. Plus, lastly, if we move overseas again, I am wary of packing a box of gold and silver and not having it stolen.
Once in a while, I buy the Money magazine. It provides some good insights into investment products on the market, some case studies, and just helps in general, to get one's mind in the mix of things, to make good investment decisions. I have toyed with the idea of subscribing a few times, but never have. I'm glad of that fact too, because I think overall I am in a pretty good spot regarding my portfolio. But the fact is, that I'll have 14k to do something with once I have offloaded my precious metals. I am thinking I will have ~10k to invest, as I want to use 4k to put into the house and yard. The other day I sold the online bullion and immediately bought 5k worth of ETF's. So, so far, so good. For the rest, I figured I'd see what this edition of Money had to say, and if it gave me any ideas.
1) Education. The first expert reckons you should invest in yourself, with say a Money subscription, some training, that kind of thing. I can see the benefit, but frankly, I don't think that was the intent of the article. For someone who views 10k as a meaty chunk of cash, they are looking for things to build their wealth more directly I feel. So I don't see the value in spending this kind of money on education in this context.
2) The next expert suggests term deposits or high-interest savings. Meh, they are ok, especially if you want liquidity, which I do, so perhaps it's not so meh. I do have my Bendigo managed fund, which is very liquid, and performs ok, so I'll keep that in mind as an option.
3) Next on the list is high-growth assets, such a tech' shares, S&P 500, gold, that kind of thing. I do like a bit of speculation, but frankly, with 40% of my portfolio already in growth shares, I am looking for return on those more than adding other punts to the list.
4) Zach Riaz thinks managed funds are a good choice. I do like them, and see ETF's as akin to these. As mentioned, I have already put 5k into ETF's as part of this exercise, so the rest needs to go elsewhere.
5) Small-cap stocks is the next recommendation. Why do I get the feeling that Money have just got a group of so-called experts and asked each to recommend their own area of expertise, so that they have a recommendation for each possible approach? That makes me think that it's not really an objective list - it's more one created to justify any possible investment idea. Small caps to me are similar to growth stocks, so no thanks.
6) Bonds are mentioned too. I have had a quick look at these in the past, but don't really understand it very well. Yes it looks low-risk but also looks low-return. I guess if you can set and forget, that's a good thing. But I am not really looking to diversify investment types even more, more which kind of investment that I already have, that I can put more into.
At the end of the day, it's all about what one is looking for. I am ultimately looking for retirement income. I want to retire at 60 and take pension from my super. Then at 67 I will take the aged pension. But likely, these will not be enough, especially at 60. So I want to grow my dividend stocks and ETF's, to generate more returns. For now, I go for stocks with dividend reinvestment schemes, which offer discounted shares and no brokerage, to put your dividend into. When I turn 60+, I can redeploy those dividends into cash payments. So I think that answers the question. I have put 5k into ETF's so far, I will now look to add another 10-ish to some of my dividend stocks, once I have sold my precious metals.
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