Academy
  • Log in
  • Sign up
  • StockWatch
  • Lobby
  • Academy
  • Investing
    • Planning Your Investments Setting investment goals
    • 8 Steps to Financial Freedom
    • How to Get Out of Debt
    • Dollar Cost Averaging with Example Calculations
    • Which Credit Card Should I Get?
    • Can I Retire on 1 Million Dollars? Is it Enough?
    • Investment Vehicles Best way to invest your money?
    • How to Budget Your Money
    • Choosing a Finance Advisor
    • Asset Classes: Shares, property, fixed interest
    • The Magic of Compound Interest
  • Shares
    • Stock Market Investing and Share Market Tips
    • Short Selling Explained: What is Short Selling
    • How to Trade Like a Professional Trader
    • What are E Minis Futures? How do I Trade Them?
    • Diversification Learn how to diversify your portfolio
    • What Is Ethical Investing?
    • Creating a Trading Plan
    • The S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO)
    • Choosing A Broker
    • Guard Your Portfolio With Defensive Stocks
    • How Much Do I Need To Invest In Shares
    • Investing VS Trading
    • What does ex dividend mean? How to ensure you receive your dividends
    • If I Could Only Invest In One Thing...
    • What Are Shares Dividends?
    • Dividend Imputation System & Franking Credits Explained Calculations
    • What is the 'Market'?
    • What Shares Should I Buy?
    • How to Buy Shares, placing an order
    • Building a Investment Portfolio Strategy
    • Trading the ASX 200 Index: ETFs, CFDs, Futures and Options
    • Creating a Trading System
    • Understanding the Share Language & Jargon of the Share Market
    • What are Income Stocks? Best Income Stocks for 2010
    • How To Pick Growth Stocks?
    • Wesfarmers (WES) vs Woolworths (WOW)
    • David Jones (DJS) VS Myer (MYR)
    • Benefits of Investing in Shares
    • How to Make Money In Shares
    • How to Treat Trading Like a Business
    • BHP vs RIO
    • Making Money In a Bear Market
    • Investing in Cloud Computing Stocks
    • High Dividend Stocks
    • Make Money Trading the Share Market
    • ANZ vs CBA vs NAB vs WBC
  • Funds
    • Managed Funds Choosing the best fund for you
    • S&P/ASX 200 ETFs: STW, IOZ, VAS
    • Managed Funds or Direct Shares
    • ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds)
    • Introduction to Index Funds
    • ETF Trading
  • Fundamental Analysis
    • Fundamental Analysis of Stocks: Qualitative Factors of the Company
    • Fundamental Analysis of Stocks: Qualitative Factors of the Industry
    • Fundamental Analysis: Quantitative Factors, Book and Price to Book Ratio
    • Fundamental Analysis: Quantitative Factors, Earnings Per Share (EPS)
    • Fundamental Analysis: Quantitative Factors, Price to Earning (P/E) and PEG
    • Fundamental Analysis: Quantitative Factors, Short Interest
    • Warren Buffett: A genius investor, a philanthropist, and a role model for citizens
    • Benjamin Graham: Father of value investing
    • Phillip Fisher
    • Peter Lynch
  • Technical Analysis
    • Charting
      • Technical Analysis: Charting: Line Chart
      • Technical Analysis: Charting: Bar Chart
      • Technical Analysis: How to Read a Candlestick Chart
      • Technical Analysis: How to Read Point and Figure Charts
      • Technical Analysis: How to Draw Trend Lines On A Stock Chart
      • Technical Analysis: What are Stock Gaps & How to Trade Them
      • Technical Analysis: How to Read & Trade Chart Patterns
    • Technical Analysis: The Secret of Moving Averages Explained
    • Learn How To Trade Support and Resistance Levels
    • Technical Analysis Indicators: Leading versus Lagging Indicators
    • Trend Following Indicators Part 1: What Is a Trend?
    • Trend Following Indicators Part 2: Trading The Average Directional Index (ADX)
    • Trend Following Indicators Part 3: The Directional Movement Index (DMI)
    • MACD Indicator Explained
    • Technical Analysis Momentum Indicators: ROC, Stochastic & RSI
    • The Relative Strength Index RSI Indicator Explained
    • Stochastic Indicator Explained
    • Momentum Following Indicators: The TRIX Indicator
    • Volume Following Indicators In Technical Analysis
    • Volume Indicators: On Balanced Volume (OBV) Indicator
    • Volume Indicators: Money Flow Index (MFI) Indicator Explained
    • Volume Following Indicators: Percentage Volume Oscillator (PVO) Indicator
    • Technical Analysis: Parabolic Stop and Reversal (PSAR) Indicator
    • Technical Analysis: Stop Loss & Trailing Stop Loss Orders
  • Commodities
    • Should I Invest in Gold? Pros and Cons of Precious Metal Investing
    • Should I Buy Gold Now?
    • Investing In Silver 7 Methods to Gain Exposure to Silver
  • Day Trading
    • Common Day Trading Myths and Lies Debunked
    • Day Trading Rules Part 1: Setup Long
    • Day Trading Rules Part 2: Setup Short
    • Buying and Selling With the Trend
    • Day Trading: The Art of Controlling Your Emotions Part 1
    • Day Trading: The Art of Controlling Your Emotions Part 2
    • Intermediate Setups and Creating a Bias Part 1
    • Intermediate Setups and Creating a Bias Part 2
    • The Art of Channel Trading
    • Day Trading Example: Walking Through a Trade – Part 1
    • Day Trading Example: Walking Through a Trade – Part 2
    • Can I Make Money Day Trading? How to Become a Day Trader?
    • Tracking the Market and Day Trading Your Stock
    • High Frequency Trading
    • What is a Trading Robot? Should I Use One to Trade?
  • Forex
    • How to Trade FOREX – Beginners Guide
    • Trading Forex
  • Derivatives
    • Options
      • Options Trading: Call Options Explained
      • Options Trading: Put Options Explained
      • Options Trading: Why Trade Options?
      • Components of an Option
      • Understanding Option Pricing Fundamentals
      • Options Trading Examples
      • Options Trading Strategies
      • Options Trading Risks
      • The Covered Call Strategy
      • Trading Options Seminars: What You Will Learn in a Teaser Seminar
    • CFDs
      • What are CFD's? Why Trade them?
      • CFD Types: Direct Market Access (DMA) VS Market Maker (MM) The Pros & Cons
      • CFD Margin Requirements Initial and Variation Margin.
      • CFD Trading: Calculating Overnight Interest Payments (Financing fees) with example
      • CFD Trading: CFD real life examples with calculations (Long & short)
      • The Pros & Cons of Trading CFDs
      • CFD Trading Risks: Learn the risks associated with trading CFDs
      • How to Choose the Best CFD Provider for You
      • CFD Trading Top 5 Trading Mistakes
      • CFD Tax Treatment
      • Learn How To Trade CFDs: Developing a system that should make us money
      • CFD Trading Example Flight Centre (FLT)

If I Could Only Invest In One Thing...

  1. Articles
  2. Shares
  3. One Investment
16 October 2015
·
3 min read

I sometimes like to play the game with friends of ‘what is one must have item if deserted on an island’? The answer gives me insight into their values and beliefs from taking a Bible to a cheeseburger. But I find myself asking the same question about investing: if I could only pick one investment to put my money into – what would it be?

Precious Metals

My gut reaction is to pick gold or silver. After all, these act as a global currency and may be the only recognised form of standardised exchange if an unprecedented disaster rocked our earth. But after contemplating this, I don’t really feel that we are headed for a Mad Max type environment anytime soon.

Even if the unthinkable did happen and I lived from an underground bunker, I am sure non-perishable food items would be a more realistic bet than a metal that sits there and does nothing of practical value (under such circumstances). As well, with the prices as high as they are, I am unsure whether this would be a suitable investment if I could only pick one.

Technology

Apple (AAPL) is a vying for the top market cap company with Exxon Mobil. Apple went from a market cap of under 8 billion in 2001 to more than 44 times that size in a mere 10 years in addition to strong forward growth expectations. But might another small innovative company, perhaps a social networking site, take out this Goliath just as Apple rose up from being the underdog?

Can Apple keep up with its ingenuity and market edge with the passing of Steve Jobs? Hmmm, I’m not convinced and would have to put Apple in my top 20 list, not my number one slot.

Oil

What about a limited resource that is in high demand? My brain immediately turns to oil. Consumption around the globe has risen from 49.4 million barrels of crude per day to around 90 million barrels per day. Oil should rise with inflation and shoot even higher when new oil cannot be found and supply tightens. There is a long-term downside to oil in that new technologies have promise to replace oil. The E-CAT device may or may not be a hoax, but scientists have become savvier at discovering new cheap energy alternatives. Solar energy can be absorbed through chemical reactions in paint that could be applied to highways or modified roof shingles. If oil prices get too high, this will make alternative energy sources ever more attractive. It may not happen tomorrow, but if I only have one investment…

Food

What about food such as PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund (DBA)? Would I bet on the rising cost of food? Much in the way of fossil fuel is necessary to produce food – which should keep prices high. Population increase puts pressure to produce more food in our limited fields, and with estimates reaching over 14 billion by 2100 – this could be a highly yielding investment choice.

But something in my conscience feels bad about capitalizing on world hunger. I truly hope that new techniques will be developed (or existing methods enforced) or that waste will be reduced for a sustainable earth. Solutions from hydroponics to gleaning or shipping leftover products to developing nations by major food producers could or should be implemented. I would not want to encourage social irresponsibility.

People

This leads me to believing and investing with the underdog. If I am to make one investment it will be with people and not a product. I believe that inequality of opportunity creates a hunger in entrepreneurs that drives them to be better than being handed a good life in developed nations.

As globalization opens up new opportunities, I firmly believe that brilliant and clever people from all walks of life will innovatively come up with new solutions to existing problems, and their country of origin (or businesses therein) may not restrict or thrown a wet blanket on the genius development of technology will inevitably succeed commodities such as oil that are controlled by an elite few.

If I had only one investment it would be with an exchange-traded fund such as the S&P Emerging Markets Small Cap (EWX) that includes smaller businesses situated in countries such as Taiwan, China, India, South Africa, Turkey, and the Philippines.

When it comes right down to it, no matter if we have another major war or unparalleled times of peace, regardless of whether the companies Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), or Facebook (FB) continue to be a major players over the next 20 years, I believe that people in general will rise to whatever challenge is thrown at them – and that those desperate to make a better living in emerging countries will become the inspirational frontrunners of this movement.

shares
You May Also Like
  • Investing in Cloud Computing Stocks
  • What Is Ethical Investing?
  • Guard Your Portfolio With Defensive Stocks
  • Fundamental Analysis of Stocks: Qualitative Factors of the Industry
  • ETF Trading
About Privacy Contact v2.0.1
© 2025 The Domain Publisher Pty Ltd.
This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more about cookies