Building up your investment portfolio is something that takes time. If
you’re starting to branch out into other small investments the goal of
this piece is to give you a few pointers on what to look for, and what
to avoid. Many people get excited about “Quick Spins” or “Investing in
other countries” but the grass is not always greener on the other
side.
Invest in relationships not just in concepts. Consider this situation,
you get pitched this great idea in a boardroom in Harare. The person
who is running with the concept is from a city in Ghana and his pitch:
“You can buy a piece of land on the Ghana coast at next to nothing.
The value of the plot will double every year because of a coastal
development fund and when you finally decide to build you’ll be so
happy that you put your money here because the return will be unreal.”
Your eyes perk up, and the sounds of having an exquisite beach plot on
the lovely beaches of Ghana sounds like a dream.
Even though you’ve never been to Ghana before and you are not really
sure if the water is warm or cold, and you’re also not really sure
that the beaches are beautiful. The return sounds good and you could
also rent it and then use if for your own family vacations. This is a
good deal. Well… maybe. Another way to look at it is that you buy the
property on impulse. You end up visiting the plot and you convince
yourself that you’ll start building. You contract the builders while
you are there and go back to Harare. Three weeks later the builders
call – they need more money. You fly back to Ghana only to find that
the builders have made a huge mistake on the foundation of the
property. You cannot fix the problem in the few days that you are in
the city and so you have to schedule another trip in a month. Every
extra profit you make begins to be poured into your plot in Ghana.
Finally, long overdue, it is built and you start renting. Then the
tourists that rented your place trashed it and break several things in
the house and you are not sure if they paid the full amount. You also
have a hunch that the person you left in charge of your property stole
your geyser and replaced it with a substandard copy but that will take
weeks to prove. You are in Harare and your local business needs your
attention and so you cannot just pick up and leave every time there is
a problem. You’ve got an investment in Ghana (for the record: I think
Ghana is great country) that is frustrating the heck out of you and
when you mention to your wife that you would like to take her there
for Christmas she bursts into tears because you forgot about your
annual Cape Town Visit. An opportunity that sounded great ended up an
expensive managerial nightmare. Yes, this may be a cynical approach
but it may not far from the truth.
When you are starting to build your portfolio invest around the
corner, literally. Unless you have money to play with, invest in a
place that you can drive to, it is so much easier to check up on. I
had a friend that did once buy a lovely beach property on the East
African coast. He lived in the U.S. When he first invested in the
property he was overjoyed. “This will get me a constant revenue source
from visitors every single month.” Like in the example, there was more
travelling backwards and forwards to manage the property then actually
enjoying it’s return and benefit.
In another instance there are large asset management companies that
will help manage your money but you will not end up owning anything
and the return will be controlled. Now there is nothing wrong with
that but remember what you are getting into. Do not put everything you
have in something that is extremely controlled. Should you go this
route make sure you are clear about the fee structure, penalties for
early withdrawal and do some homework on the funds you are investing
in (their prime investments, who manages them etc.).
If you’re friends with a stock broker, or there is someone you have
been to dinner with a couple times and he knows how to trade on the
market then give the market a shot, but remember that you are
investing based on a relationship. If you have a friend in the real
estate market that you trust; talk to them. Perhaps they have a fund
you can be a part of. Remember though, get everything in writing. When
it comes to hundreds and thousands of dollars that you are looking to
invest. Portion it out. Do not, I repeat do not invest everything into
one place. The world is replete with stories of people who have lost
everything when a market has turned or a company has failed. Ask
anyone who invested in Enron where in an 18-month period shares fell
from 90USD to 1USD.
In the long term there are high-risk entrepreneurial opportunities.
When you are investing in a small, local, computer business you can
see the possible returns. You can go the office if there’s an issue.
If you have partners you can organize a 20-minute coffee and sort out
the dividends and straighten out problems. Ask a few people that you
trust. What can I do with $2,000 or $3,000? See if there’s anything
that works for you. Weigh your options. Get it in writing and go
forward.
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