DO YOU HAVE MORE MONEY THAN TIME MICHAEL ZUBER
First, let’s look at the challenges:
An investor who has cash to invest can become a target, as there are a lot of people itching to get their hands
on cash for various investment schemes. Some of these might sound very appealing, especially given the
current environment of low interest rates. The following scenario crossed my path a year ago or so and is just
an example:
I was offered the opportunity to invest in oil wells through a reputable dealer with promises of returns and
riches. They had all the fancy charts, they threw out a mountain of jargon, and they topped it off with a fancy
Excel sheet showing proposed returns that would knock your socks off.
I have to admit that I was impressed and they almost had me. But then I sat back and asked myself, what do I
know about oil wells, drilling, the risks of the industry, etc? I was also suspicious of the fact that they were
hunting for investors in California; there had to be a lot of money in Texas that would chase this deal if it was so
profitable. Plus, I was really put off by all the jargon. I have a simple rule if you can’t explain something in
simple terms, then I suspect you are hiding something.
I did not invest, and a year later I am very happy I didn’t invest. A peer of mine did, and they lost their shirt. But
hey, they have a tax write-off now.
Besides being a target for unsavory deals, the cash investor’s time is limited due to a full life with work, family,
and other responsibilities and they just don’t have the bandwidth to research another investment area. They
understand that it takes time and hard work to get good at something, and they just don’t have the time or
energy to take on a new area.
This means that the investor is left holding cash, or worse, gambling in the stock market or chasing the latest
hot fad such as gold or international stocks. These options might work out, but they will very likely leave them
with less of return and more risk than should be acceptable.
The Opportunities:
As the previous section hinted, the investor with cash
has a bunch of options, and it is their job to protect
and grow their reserves via careful investment
selection. Given that this article adds the additional
caveat of limited to no time, we will remove all the
options
that
require
lots
of
monitoring, and other headaches.
education,
daily