A Brief Guide to Investing
Purchasing stocks (NYSE, DFM, or anywhere else that stocks are available for purchase) means that the investors are buying shares in a company, shares in the company's assets and earnings. On average, investors make money with one exception: never buy a stock that has been recommended by anyone, even by your own grandmother, and, a fortiori, by an Internet spam message. (Granny's tips are included among the worthless ones because she probably got them off the Internet.)
Purchasing property can be a decent investment, though usually less profitable than stocks.
Purchasing a small business can be profitable in the West, but several people have told me that, if a small business could possibly be profitable in the Orient (i.e, East of Greece), the owner, if forced to sell, would be required to sell only to an extended family member. Hence, only unprofitable businesses, ones the owners' entire family said could not possibly be made profitable, are ever available for purchase.
For more than half a century, salesmen have approached me showing me the chart of some investment. All such charts are ragged lines. The salesmen (including my own sister) pointed out the peaks and troughs, and said they had a system for consistently buying at the exact bottom of each trough, and selling at the exact top of each peak. They all offered to invest my money for me. The only one I believed was my own sister (a mistake).
Most of these offers were made while I was still in the West, but I've gotten a few in Dubai.
My approach is to accept the 'free' dinner that comes with the sales pitch, then try to sneak out without a scene. Usually, though, a scene is the price of the 'free' dinner.
Summary: Banks will give you a small profit on your deposits; stocks will give about twice the profit the banks will pay, but with much more risk; property will give a profit between that provided by banks and that provided by stocks. And anyone promising more profit than these is just attempting to separate fools from their money.
Purchasing property can be a decent investment, though usually less profitable than stocks.
Purchasing a small business can be profitable in the West, but several people have told me that, if a small business could possibly be profitable in the Orient (i.e, East of Greece), the owner, if forced to sell, would be required to sell only to an extended family member. Hence, only unprofitable businesses, ones the owners' entire family said could not possibly be made profitable, are ever available for purchase.
For more than half a century, salesmen have approached me showing me the chart of some investment. All such charts are ragged lines. The salesmen (including my own sister) pointed out the peaks and troughs, and said they had a system for consistently buying at the exact bottom of each trough, and selling at the exact top of each peak. They all offered to invest my money for me. The only one I believed was my own sister (a mistake).
Most of these offers were made while I was still in the West, but I've gotten a few in Dubai.
My approach is to accept the 'free' dinner that comes with the sales pitch, then try to sneak out without a scene. Usually, though, a scene is the price of the 'free' dinner.
Summary: Banks will give you a small profit on your deposits; stocks will give about twice the profit the banks will pay, but with much more risk; property will give a profit between that provided by banks and that provided by stocks. And anyone promising more profit than these is just attempting to separate fools from their money.
posted by Dubai@Random at 7:38 pm
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