Posted March 11, 2010 by

Run for the hills! The world is coming to an end - or is it?

If you think you’re a savvy investor, be it stocks, real estate, gold, etc, how do you compare against the worlds richest men? Well, if you’re anything like them then you were doing one thing in the past year – INVESTING! Unlike Main Street or the media, who were desperate to sell and advising to do so (because the world was coming to an end), the richest men in the world saw a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy bargains and have already reaped in the huge sums of benefits translating to billions of dollars. Just ask Bill Gates who saw his Microsoft stock jump 50% in the past 12 months pushing his net worth up $13 billion from a year ago or Warren Buffett who shrewdly invested $5 billion in Goldman Sachs and $3 billion in General Electric amid the 2008 market collapse and saw his fortune jump $10 billion. In a letter to his shareholders, Buffett wrote, “We’ve put a lot of money to work during the chaos of the last two years. When it’s raining gold, reach for a bucket, not a thimble.”

Apparently, Buffett wasn’t the only person reaching for a bucket. Last year’s pecking field has become a billionaire feeding frenzy. According to Forbes new billionaire list, most of the richest people on the planet have seen their fortunes soar in the past year. The 2009 billionaire list includes 218 new members topping the list out at 1,011 billionaires worldwide.

So how do you compare and what investments do you plan to make this year? Although I’m not a financial advisor, I do believe in a diversified investment portfolio and there are still some true bargains out there in real estate. I’ve seen rent houses with over 50% return on investment (ROI) and land tracts selling at half of market value. This combined with historical low interest rates (i.e. 30 yr fixed 5.2%, 5 yr ARM 3.8%) presents a win-win for investors. However, these market conditions won’t be around forever. What kind of investor will you be in 2010?

As always, feel free to call or email me with any questions. I can be reached at 214.240.3910 or zach@rogershealy.com.

Till next time,

Zach Heard