What are you buying/holding/selling now?

[aelan]

Serious question for those who are investing:

Given the current market turmoil, what is your personal outlook and how has your portfolio been realigned?

If you're open, mind sharing the breakdown, in terms of currencies, asset classes and timelines?

If your answer is cash, in which form - inflation is still rising so that'd be net negative appreciation, also, not all cash enjoys protection/liquidity?

[djm]

The only stock I hold is in my own companies. I make a point of not investing in anything that I am not personally involved in, I have spent too much time around the clowns the run the city of London to have any faith in the system.

Spare money at the moment I am using to pay down my mortgage more quickly, and to improve my land / buy more land. From a commercial point of view I am leaning away from any fundraising in the city for the next year or so (fortunately I raised $6m about six months ago), and will be aiming for raising funds either from government (EU and US) and industry. My industry is seeing the best market conditions in living memory so I should be well placed for trade investment.

[aelan]

^ I like your style.

Land in which region, and do you mean residential owner occupied, or for lease, as I understand there was some panic on the London market regarding commercial real estate in the city?

Mind if I ask which industry as well?

[MountainHiker]

I don't invest a lot but most of what I do invest is in gold, silver and mining stocks right now. I was doing well until this summer. It looks like the big boys handed us an across the board take down and that included my positions. I'm pretty much back to where I was two years ago since I didn't have stops in place. Live and learn.

I do expect the metals to rally again in the next couple of years as the real estate/subprime mess unwinds, the over printing of currencies gets sorted out, and China and India's roles in the new global order settles into place. However, just because I expect that doesn't mean anything close to it will happen. I do pretty good at the fundamentals of why an investment should work. But figuring in the human element of lemming-like behavior and the instantaneous fluctuations of panic, not panic, panic, not panic within the investing herd still trips me up. I'm working on it and learning more about charts and sentiments, but doubt I'd ever be one of those investors with his fingers on the pulse of the markets.

[avolkiteshvara]

Very little to invest now.

Biotech and healthcare are supposed to be somewhat recession resistant.

[kendoiwan]

The whole fucking game is rigged. If you're not playing with the big boys, sit on the sideline and wait till the smoke clears. Then buy whatever you're gonna buy on the cheap, but this ship is not done sinking by a longshot. They've been promising a bottom for over a year now. Learn how to take a hint...

[djm]

^ I like your style.

Thanks.


Land in which region, and do you mean residential owner occupied, or for lease, as I understand there was some panic on the London market regarding commercial real estate in the city?

I have a few acres around my own property which I am draining and putting orchards on. I am also applying for planning permission to be allowed to open a camp site (it's in a national park and so would generate useful revenue), and putatively for a residential property (speculative, but worth a shot). In terms of buying more agricultural land, I wish more nearby my home that I can put orchards on, and will likely buy some in Romania where it is cheap due to salinity (I am developing chemicals which would allow crops to grow better in these conditions).

I would not touch real estate as it is overvalued. Neither would I buy high grade land in western europe or the US as it is also overvalued. Agricultural land that is on the fringes of the west and is marginal for production could easily pay for itself if ways were found of making it productive (this what I develop products for).


Mind if I ask which industry as well?

I develop pesticides, and materials that improve performance of fertilisers. I also develop chemistry that allows plants to grow better in sub-optimal weather conditions (heat, cold, drought etc). So my industry is the food industry, the agrochemical industry, and the fertiliser industry.