In our definition ultimate can be seen as the best achievable to imaginable outcome in a situation. So when it comes to investing what is the ultimate investment? What asset class will yield the most profit over time?
What is an Investment
This point is as good as any other to try to understand what an investment is. An investment in this context can be defined as a thing worth buying because it may be more profitable in future.
This definition however is more suitable; an investment is the outcome from the act of devoting time, effort or energy to a particular undertaking with the expectation of a worthwhile result.
Investing the process of creating Wealth
We have a simple understanding of what the ultimate investment is. It is the most achievable outcome, or highest yield we can expect to get in a future date from the effort and time we dedicate to it.
Where should you Invest
Looking at the past decade, despite the recession caused by the sub-prime mortgage crisis among other factors, Real Estate prices have risen especially prime real estate. I recently came across this link showing an interactive graphic on the Economist.
The stock market has seen new highs in the past few years despite the onset of Covid-19 and the impact on the global markets, we have seen markets eek out gains and closing the year on a high. Here is a link showing the S&P 500 value in the last ten years.
Similarly ETF, Art, Crypto currencies, and other investments over the past decade have provided healthy returns across the board and people who invested should have seen good returns on their portfolio.
None of these are the ultimate investment and as an investor looking at opportunities, it is necessary to look for what we can dedicate our time and efforts to in order to get the best return over a period of time. An investment in knowledge pays the best interest a quote by Benjamin Franklin and this is very true today as it was in his day however many years ago.
There are many potential opportunities and pitfalls that a beginner investor is exposed to and while it may be easy to avoid pitfalls, it is easy to miss great opportunities many of them once in a lifetime. At this time or writing, Bitcoin has taken a dive but here is a link showing how is performed over time.
New industries are opening up, clean energy, marijuana and electric vehicles to name a few and the leaders in these spaces are pushing the market to new highs. Money invested in Tesla or an ETF would have returned quite a sum over this period of time and here is a link to remind us.
Covid-19 presented its own problems however for those who were prepared there were opportunities and many capitalised on it. At some point it felt like a playbook because as governments fought to stop the spread of the virus by shutting down travel, the impact to the travel industry was very clear. Here is a link showing what happened to JETS, an ETF for example.
As the battle for a vaccine ‘raged’, the focus for opportunities included Biotech stocks among which there were a few good performers. This link shows how one of those ETFs performed.
Verdict
Having knowledge of the market works and the world around will expose these opportunities. The ultimate investment is you; spending your time and energy in acquiring relevant knowledge on how to invest better, eat better, sleep better or live better in general will produce returns in future and your future self will thank you – or you can thank us.
The opportunities we have seen over the past decade have been interesting and there are even more opportunities now opening up as new industries are being formed, the political landscape is turbulent (the Trade was between China and the USA created opportunities too).
Where are the Opportunities
The onset of covid-19 caused many jobs to be lost and in many other cases, the jobs are now done remotely, commuting times have been eliminated or been drastically reduced. Spending habits are changing as a result of this, city centres that would normally see bustling crowds are now deserted.
All these shifts have made businesses and companies move a lot of services online in their search to find innovative ways to reach out to new clients, stay in contact with existing contacts clients. For people looking for ways to increase their earning potential by learning a new skill, or working for a couple of hours in the weekend (since we are all rested from not having to travel in to the office) these opportunities are more accessible.
What we have seen in the recent past is just the beginning and it is not too late to capitalise on the opportunities. There is an increasing need for many skills that you may not have thought of for example, many of us are at stuck at home due to the lockdown but we still need to be physically active, and have people to talk with, enjoy a nice movie and a bunch of other things.
There are even more ways to reach out to people and make friends since most of us as stuck as home and this can be a way to pivot your career or create a new income stream. Perhaps you enjoy cooking new recipes or just making content for Youtube or Podcasts on Spotify.
A number of institutions are running free or discounted courses in order to reach out to more people among other reasons or perhaps you are a seasoned expert in your field and will like to spread your knowledge and build an audience.
The opportunities are opening up and we can make the most of them by acquiring relevant knowledge, maintaining a focus on improving ourselves mentally, intellectually, physically and looking at ways to create value.
