Keeping it simple is usually a good principle in investing – and that’s definitely true when it comes to deciding what should make up the core of your portfolio. There are only a handful of established, transparent and proven asset classes that have distinctive properties.

Striking the right balance between them is the first decision in any investment strategy. Equities have historically been the best choice for growing your wealth: shares have outperformed bonds and cash in all major markets over the long run.

If you’re young and saving for a distant retirement, you might have almost all your portfolio in the stockmarket. But shares are volatile, so an older investor who wants their wealth to be more stable might choose to keep just half of their assets in shares.

Your property should mean far more than your house: it could include offices, shopping centres, factories or warehouses. History suggests commercial property returns will be lower than equities, but this asset brings steady income and useful diversification.

Most of us will invest in property through Reits, which make up 10%-20% of a balanced portfolio. Bonds have two main roles: as a steady source of income and as a safer asset that does well when shares swoon.

With yields as low as they are, the former now looks less compelling: investors may prefer to stick with equities for much of their income instead of switching entirely into bonds at retirement. But holding safe government bonds helps balance the volatility of stocks, so they could still make up around a quarter of a balanced portfolio even at today’s meagre yields. 

Cash provides a buffer for unexpected expenses, but also means that you are well placed to take advantage of any buying opportunities the market throws up. But too much cash will be a major drag on your returns. An allocation of 5%-10% is sensible in most circumstances. Finally, there’s gold.

Some investors suggest holding commodities in general, but the yellow metal is the only one with a strong case for being a core holding. Gold pays no dividends or interest; in fact, it usually costs you a small amount in storage or management fees to own it.

But it’s a highly liquid and trusted asset that consistently does well during crises. Keeping 5%-10% of your money in gold is a simple way of insuring against a major meltdown

Motivational Quote Of The Day

“Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life.”   

J F Kennedy

Alternative Quote Of The Day

“One-armed butlers – they can take it but they can’t dish it out.”

Tim Vine

The Fruit Box 

The Fruit Box is an Australian company that delivers fresh fruit to company break rooms as an alternative to the usual unhealthy stuff you find in such places.

Ten years ago, the company had two delivery vans. It has more than 50 vans and delivers 600,000 pieces of fruit each week.

Might this work in major cities in the UK? I can see no reason why not. Healthier eating is high on the agenda of a lot of office workers, but good quality fresh fruit isn’t always easy to source and transport when they’re on their way to work. 

Something for an ambitious entrepreneur with huge upside potential.

Today’s National Day

NATIONAL I AM IN CONTROL  DAY!

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

“No Gym, No Problem!”

Hello.

Now gyms have been closed temporarily you might be wondering

What To Do Instead?

Well if you’re anything like me, the answer isn’t ‘nothing’!

Over a decade ago now we were introduced to an  intriguing  and  unique home exercise programme. We decided to  publish  it  in  limited  numbers and it created something of a sensation, with many of our customers saying it’s the most effective thing they’ve ever tried…

And It Takes Just 7 Minutes A Day!

This isn’t just a ‘make do’ programme because your  gym is   closed. It’s a programme which you can use  for life, no  matter where you are without special equipment, and achieve  spectacular  results.

You can find out all about it and hear from some of the people using  it  to transform their fitness and their appearance HERE.

These are difficult times, but it doesn’t mean we have to give in.

With this programme, I believe it’s possible for  you  to  come  out  of  this fitter and healthier than you went in.

   Take a look  CLICK HERE and see what you think.

Kind Regards

John Harrison

www.streetwisenews.com/vince

A rare 22-carat gold sovereign from 1937, with a face value of £1, has become the first British coin to sell for £1m. The coin bears the face of King Edward VIII, despite Edward having abdicated in favour of his brother, George VI, the previous year.

Edward had also broken with convention in being depicted facing left, as he preferred his left profile to his right. Since the reign of Charles II in the 17th century, monarchs had traditionally faced in the opposite direction to their immediate predecessors. But Edward VIII was quite a vain character.

Owing to Edward’s abdication, the trial coin, of which six were made, never went into mass production. Edward asked for a set of the coins, but his brother refused. Four of the coins ended up in museums, with the remaining ones held privately. The Royal Mint sourced one of the latter from the US, where it had gone after being sold for £516,000 in 2014. “When the opportunity came along, I felt I could not turn it down.

It was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” says the present anonymous buyer. “I’m aware that [£1m] is a lot of money for a coin, but if I did not secure it now, I’d not get the chance again.” The most expensive coin in the world remains the “flowing hair” silver dollar, which was the first coin to be struck by the US Mint in 1794. It sold for $10m in January 2013.

Motivational Quote Of The Day

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.”

Alan Kay

Alternative Quote Of The Day

“Fun is like life insurance; the older you get, the more it costs.”    
        

Kin Hubbard

3,000 lunches a day-and no kitchen!

A San Fransisco run by two Stanford business graduates provides lunches for over 3,000 office workers in the bay area each day, and they don’t cook or prepare a single one.

Eat Club’s secret is that they are middlemen – reaching deals with individual restaurants each day, negotiating discounts, and then delivering to their customers for a flat $7.50 a head. Nothing fancy – just three menu choices each day.

This seem like an excellent business model – let someone else invest in a restaurant, kitchens and everything else that’s needed, and then simply sell what they produce. If consumer tastes change, the company aren’t locked into one kind of food and can very quickly change supplier.

I can’t think of any reason why a business like this wouldn’t have a great chance of success in any major city – and with much lower risks and start up costs than a traditional catering operation.

Today’s National Day

NATIONAL EPILEPSY AWARENESS DAY!

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

“No Gym, No Problem!”

Hello.

Now gyms have been closed temporarily you might be wondering

What To Do Instead?

Well if you’re anything like me, the answer isn’t ‘nothing’!

Over a decade ago now we were introduced to an  intriguing  and  unique home exercise programme. We decided to  publish  it  in  limited  numbers and it created something of a sensation, with many of our customers saying it’s the most effective thing they’ve ever tried…

And It Takes Just 7 Minutes A Day!

This isn’t just a ‘make do’ programme because your  gym is   closed. It’s a programme which you can use  for life, no  matter where you are without special equipment, and achieve  spectacular  results.

You can find out all about it and hear from some of the people using  it  to transform their fitness and their appearance HERE.

These are difficult times, but it doesn’t mean we have to give in.

With this programme, I believe it’s possible for  you  to  come  out  of  this fitter and healthier than you went in.

   Take a look  CLICK HERE and see what you think.

Kind Regards

John Harrison

www.streetwisenews.com/vince

There’s something grimly compelling about failure, and for that reason, I expect Simon Jameson’s book to be a big success.

Jameson has started and failed in 10 businesses, and has now decided to turn these failures into an asset. His new book, Badpreneur, chronicles the story of his business downfalls. It isn’t all bad news though. Some of his businesses did make some money, but he lost it all again on the next venture!

Although the book is about failure, the underlying message is a positive one – don’t give up. As Thomas Edison once famously said – “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Wouldn’t it be the ultimate irony if the one way that really works for Simon Jameson, is a book about business failure!

Motivational Quote Of The Day

“The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.”

Confucious

Alternative Quote Of The Day

“I’m not saying my wife’s a bad cook, but she uses a smoke alarm as a timer.”

Bob Monkhouse

Dragons Slayed

Watch a few episodes of Dragons Den and it’s easy to become convinced that the Dragons are infallible. I’ve never held that view (I’ll tell you why in a moment) and the case of Jacqueline Williams seems to prove it.

Jacqueline went on the show to get investment for her Basket Geni invention, a device which prevents hanging baskets being stolen or blown off their hooks in the wind. Despite some encouraging comments, she failed to get any investment.

Undeterred, she pressed on alone and has signed a deal with one of the UK’s leading garden centre distributors, who supply the likes of Homebase and B&Q. The initial order is for 20,000 units with high hopes for massive expansion both in the UK and overseas.

So the Dragons were wrong not to invest? Perhaps. You see, there are many different types of business, and just because you know how to build and run a high street retail chain, or an international company, doesn’t mean you have what it takes to judge whether a new invention is likely to take off, or whether a start-up idea has potential.

This is always worth bearing in mind when receiving advice and opinions about your idea. The person advising you may be successful, but is he or she successful in your specific field? And is their definition of success the same as yours?

That’s the other thing with those Dragon’s you see; where a business bringing in £100,000 a year profit might be Nirvana for you, it’s probably not worth the bother for them. Maybe the Dragons were right not to invest in Jacqueline’s business after all. Their finite time and resources could be better spent elsewhere.

The lesson here I think, is to seek out investment, support advice and partnership from people who understand and are motivated by, the level at which you hope and expect to operate in your business. Aiming for the top isn’t always the best strategy.

Today’s National Day

NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOUR DAY!

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

“No Gym, No Problem!”

Hello.

Now gyms have been closed temporarily you might be wondering

What To Do Instead?

Well if you’re anything like me, the answer isn’t ‘nothing’!

Over a decade ago now we were introduced to an  intriguing  and  unique home exercise programme. We decided to  publish  it  in  limited  numbers and it created something of a sensation, with many of our customers saying it’s the most effective thing they’ve ever tried…

And It Takes Just 7 Minutes A Day!

This isn’t just a ‘make do’ programme because your  gym is   closed. It’s a programme which you can use  for life, no  matter where you are without special equipment, and achieve  spectacular  results.

You can find out all about it and hear from some of the people using  it  to transform their fitness and their appearance HERE.

These are difficult times, but it doesn’t mean we have to give in.

With this programme, I believe it’s possible for  you  to  come  out  of  this fitter and healthier than you went in.

   Take a look  CLICK HERE and see what you think.

Kind Regards

John Harrison

www.streetwisenews.com/vince

We often hear from people who are desperately trying to find a new unique business idea. Far better (and easier) to take an existing idea and modify it, or tailor it to a particular group of customers.

A perfect example of this is Executive Tours of California who run tours to Europe. Nothing unique about that, until you find out that these tours are called ‘Crack Of Noon Tours’, and the itinerary is designed specifically for people who don’t like getting up early in the mornings.

So all the excursions and activities are scheduled from noon onwards. Needless to say, there are no early morning flights.

So there you have it. Are there any other products or services that could be adapted for late risers? Or to turn it on its head, are there any products or services that can be adapted for the early to bed brigade?

Once you start thinking about any product or service, the number of potential niche markets you can create for a product or variation to service, is almost infinite.

Motivational Quote Of The Day

“Don’t look down on anyone unless you are helping them up.”

Jesse Jackson

Alternative Quote Of The Day

“My wife said to me: “If you won the lottery, would you still love me?” “Of course I would. I’d miss you, but I’d still love you.”

Frank Carson

DIY Food

I don’t know about you, but when I go to a hotel restaurant, I don’t even want to have to think about how the food got from its raw state onto my plate. I just want to eat. But not everyone feels the same way, and the Hotel Vitale in San Fracisco has  a service for those people.

The hotel is situated close to a farmers market, and as a guest you can accompany the chef to the market to select your ingredients for your evening meal. Then, he’ll either cook it for you, or assist you to prepare it yourself, depending on your preference.

This might not be your idea of a great day out, but the fact remains that the popularity of TV cooking programmes means there’s an awful lot of frustrated chefs out there who would love to get their hands dirty under the watchful eye of a top chef….even if it meant cooking their own food and then paying for the priviledge. Could this be a service you coud introduce to a hotel near you.

Today’s National Day

NATIONAL PROPOSAL DAY!

PUBLISHERS NOTICE

Hello.

Is your gym a safe place to be during the Coronavirus outbreak?
I’m really not qualified to answer that, but I know some people have taken the decision to stay away, and in the  coming  days  and weeks  it’s  possible the decision might be taken out of our hands.

So What To Do Instead?

Well if you’re anything like me, the answer isn’t ‘nothing’!

Over a decade ago now we were introduced to an  intriguing  and  unique home exercise programme. We decided to  publish  it  in  limited  numbers and it created something of a sensation, with many of our customers saying it’s the most effective thing they’ve ever tried…

And It Takes Just 7 Minutes A Day!

This isn’t just a ‘make do’ programme because your  gym is  either  closed or doesn’t feel safe. It’s a programme which you can use  for life, no  matter where you are without special equipment, and achieve  spectacular  results.

You can find out all about it and hear from some of the people using  it  to transform their fitness and their appearance HERE.

These are difficult times, but it doesn’t mean we have to give in.

With this programme, I believe it’s possible for  you  to  come  out  of  this fitter and healthier than you went in.

   Take a look  CLICK HERE and see what you think.

Kind Regards

John Harrison

www.streetwisenews.com/vince