The Sovereign Society European Advantage Tour continues today from Zurich, Switzerland. According to our own Bob Bauman, Switzerland is one of the world’s finest financial havens.
This has to do not only with Swiss mountainous topography, which insulates the country from its European neighbors, but also from the fact that it has isolated itself from European meddling over the years.
Switzerland is well known for its neutrality during war time, but it has also remained neutral amid a world of growing banking regulations that threaten our privacy. A few years ago, a major accounting firm produced a survey that indicated reputation and integrity were the prime factors in choosing to do business with any bank; and Switzerland has both in abundance.
Integrity, discipline, secrecy; and about $3 trillion in global offshore assets held in Swiss bank accounts as a result.
Pearls of Wisdom from Our Investment Director
Today, the Sovereign Society’s investment director Eric Roseman provided his insights investment insights from around the wide-world of investment markets. He began by saying the commodity boom isn’t over, just resting temporarily, but the easy money in natural resources has already been made.
I tend to agree, but I also see more gains ahead for commodities, especially energy, and agriculture.
Eric also pointed out a universal rule of value investing: “don’t chase investments trading near 52-week highs. Instead, look for markets that have been washed out and are trading near their lows.” This strategy can provide you with an important extra margin of safety at a time when many markets around the world have already enjoyed big gains.
Go Global for Bigger Gains, and Less Risk
Another rule of thumb Eric pointed out is that to be successful in the markets today, investors must look farther a field – and take a truly global approach to investing in exchanges around the world. Of course, he’s preaching to the choir with me in this instance.
Right now, Eric’s finding the best bargains in Asia where he’s focusing on some of the most undervalued, and yet fastest-growing global markets. Current favorites include: Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and certain real estate plays in the region.
Here’s another valuable tip for today’s global investor: traveling the world provides a key value-added factor in your investment process. There’s just no substitute for being there in person to check out emerging investment trends around the globe.
Personally, I’m a big advocate of this first-hand approach to international investing – as my still jet-lagged body will attest!
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