Buy real assets

And you, what are your choices for 2012?  And you, what are your choices for 2012?  Where should you invest? With all of the recent economical changes that have been happening in the past few years, it is hard to know which direction you should go in for 2012. Stocks, mutual funds, or maybe even just a plain old savings account are all still on the table for the new year. To help you determine which avenue to invest your hard-earned money. Challenges helps you see more clearly, even if the exercise is particularly difficult. Many of last year, it is burned. Because the environment is uncertain, especially a few days of the loss by France of its Triple A and the consequences this will have on the stock portfolios and the credit rate, and therefore real estate and stock portfolios.

This year, you should be aware of this enormous uncertainty about financial investments. By not exposing yourself to too much risk associated with signing banking and insurance products. The solution? Buy real assets. You can be sure to have something. In addition, your investment will be neither created nor managed or sold by one of those financial institutions that seem increasingly fragile. Finally, you participate to the financing and development of the most dynamic economic areas in the world

Invest in emerging economies

For the overall rise in living standards in the world is a great opportunity for all investors. In all countries with sustained economic growth (Brazil, Russia, India, China, Asian Tigers and Dragons) millions of people discover the “better life”, the “eat better” and “eat more”. It is not, of course, to have blinders on and imagine that we live in a world where all is well: there are still pockets of poverty.

Rather, it is clear that in a number of formerly poor countries, the number of middle-income households and households at home is exploding, thanks to economic growth above 6%. This is a bet on emerging markets, but with a very different perspective of what is usual.

This aspiration of the middle class explains the Chinese boom, but also the huge increase in consumption by China, India, Brazil, beef and pork, cotton, wheat, juice … orange and chocolate. We are witnessing the birth of new modes of life, or rather to the spread around the world, the dominant West.

We must also take into account the scarcity of certain raw materials like oil, as rising global standard of living is pushing up. And appetite of the “new rich” (and conservative investors Western economies) for gold. It will be our great challenge of 2012: Gold, oil and some basic foodstuffs, or rather, to take account of rising living standards of those in our breakfast …

How to invest?

It’s pretty simple. Gold is available in several forms. It is better to avoid pure gold paper (ETFs), which creates more and more questions: one of the last great scams, suffered by the Swiss bank UBS, was on its trackers. Better to buy gold online, or do as many managers of large fortunes: buy gold mines. Gold still has potential.

For oil, it is best to invest in oil companies like Total (Stock code: FP) or Royal Dutch Shell (GB00B03MLX29). Their course depends very much on the black gold. Moreover, the Anglo-Dutch oil giant, whose profits have doubled in the third quarter of 2011, recognizes. “Our quarterly results are on the rise thanks to higher oil prices” said its chief executive, Peter Voser. Otherwise, you can always invest in funds, which as Prim Commodities, rely on oil and other raw materials.

Third challenge: the “breakfast”.  Why? Because raising the standard of living increases consumption of products such as orange juice, milk, chocolate, coffee, bacon and of course wheat, for toasts. The production attempts to follow the increase in consumption, but it does not. That’s why prices are rising and will continue to rise.