Invest or not to invest? This is the question.

During the past few years, I’ve been thinking a lot about retirement. No, it has nothing to do with the Russian pension reform. It’s about my personal retirement income. And I came to realize that investing is absolutely necessary.

Some friends who know about my investing experience regularly ask me where they should invest their savings. I tell them that I am not a personal investment advisor. ;-)

However, the most persistent ones keep asking this question again and again. In this brief post, I will try to summarize some of my ideas on the subject.

So, what are the best places for investment for the next couple of years? What should you focus on when choosing a project or an asset?

Here are 5 tips based on my own experience:

1. You’d better invest in something you know well/are interested in.
   Before investing, make sure the demand is on the rise.
   Example:
   You are into CrossFit or cycling and want to invest in a gym in your area. Good idea. But first, conduct market research to make sure there are no competitors successfully catering to your target audience. If you have some competitors, check how many of your potential clients have already joined them. How many are still available? Is your business model capable of making the project self-sufficient within 3–6–12 months? If you don’t dig into this, your startup won’t be successful.
2. It’s important to determine your investment horizon.
   What is your time frame? 5 years? 10 years? Or 20–30 years? Are you a person of 35 seeking to retire rich? Do you want to buy a house in 5 years or give your child a good education? Or maybe you want to quit your job and make a living by trading? These are 3 different investment goals. Note that different assets have different rates of risk and return.
3. You’d better be cautious when investing in global IT corporations.
   Some people want to invest in companies like Facebook or Alphabet (Google) in the hope their stocks will keep surging. Probably, this ship has already sailed. Now, the stocks of most IT giants are overheated, so we should expect a price correction. Besides, many of them are now under scrutiny by antitrust regulators who would love to limit their power.
4. It makes sense to take a closer look at chip and semiconductor manufacturers (NVIDIA, Intel, AMD) and cloud solutions providers (Microsoft, IBM, Oracle). Other promising areas are cleantech, renewable energy, and things like that. For instance, electric cars, ecotourism, etc.
5. If you have nerves of steel, a high level of risk tolerance, and a short investment horizon, try investing in cryptocurrencies. Remember that this market is super sensitive to news and rumors, so the price of an asset can bounce back and forth in a matter of hours. If you are investing in a blockchain startup, study its White Paper first. Opt for a project offering some practical value and avoid those exploiting a dream of fast money.
   NTF (Non-Fungible) tokens are among the new trends deserving an investor’s attention.

What’s the most important thing for an investor? See № 1: invest in the things you believe in and pay attention to the demand and hot market trends.

For instance, now I am actively involved in the construction of country cottages. Besides, I am working through a new glamping project.
Construction is an evergreen business, and the pandemic has added to the demand. Glamping is an upward travel trend matching hotel facilities with outdoor adventures.

Russia, with its high level of urbanization and stunningly beautiful natural parks, looks perfect for such a format. Right now, the demand is much greater than the supply.

Finally, don’t forget about IT. Globalization opens new amazing opportunities for us. You can trade on an exchange or a Forex platform from anywhere in the world and make money.

It’s time to invest. It’s what we do. You can do it, too.