Digger Danny said:
I dare say he might of sold sometimes at the wrong time but it never cost him any thing he just did not make as much.
That's spot on Digger.
I always say you never make or lose money on an investment unless you sell. As a rule of thumb buy in a low and sell in a high, so how much you make is all down to timing in the end but getting timing right is difficult. If you are happy with the profit take it, as the longer you leave it the more risk you take in losing it.
Back to Gold trooper:
What's important to me is the quality and diversity of investment as well as the ability and flexibility to manage your life if in crisis by being able to sell portions of your investment. That's why I'd suggest to go with shares, particularly with the sums you are talking about, cheap cost to buy and sell. Buy for the long term quality proven companies currently under priced which return a dividend.
I'd steer away from property as prices are really high, interest rates are really low and wages haven't kept up. I don't think our wages are going to increase to such a level to make housing a viable investment for the outlay. More likely prices will stagnate/fall and interest rates will increase adding to your return on investment woes. Also the tax/costs to buy and sell are huge and you can't just sell part of your asset for life adjustments, you have to redraw and pay interest to the bank.
For me I am currently looking at using the equity in my house and buying small business with a high return on investment. This is still high risk as effectively I'm buying a running concern but own nothing except cash flow. To reduce that risk, I'm only looking at managed businesses with proven returns over many years with operating procedures and successful management already in place (like buying into shares). It will be a passive investment and I'll just manage at a much higher level.
I hope that gives you some ideas Gold trooper.
Jon