I’ve never been much into stocks.
It’s not that I have any ideological objection to them or anything like that.
I always just thought they took too much time and management. The market goes up and down all the time—I would have to be looking at my portfolio every day and judging when to buy and sell…
That’s too much work—and too much stress—for me.
So, if you know me, you know that I’ve built my “nest egg” with real estate.
I bought my first investment property in the States back in 1995.
Over the subsequent years, I’ve invested in more than two dozen countries, and at its peak, my portfolio held properties in 15 or more countries at the same time.
I’ve tried to consolidate over the last decade or so.
I’m focused now on leaving a legacy for my kids… and setting myself up well for my later years.
I’ve also started to take my own advice about diversification—when it comes to diversifying beyond my real estate portfolio.
I now recognize that a fully diversified portfolio includes not only real estate and stocks but also a variety of alternative assets…
So, in more recent years I started to grow my stock portfolio… although I still have my same basic personal problem with stocks, and even mutual funds: You have to pay a lot of attention to them. The market is more volatile.
And personally—just like with real estate—I prefer assets that I can touch and feel.
Which is why I have a coin collection and have invested in art and French wine primeurs. It’s also why I’m now exploring the Scotch whisky market.
Earlier this year, KPMG, a global network of professional firms providing audit, tax, and advisory services, released a survey of 200 high net worth individuals and professional investors. It revealed that 27% of investors are looking to include premium whisky in their asset holdings within the next three years.
To put that in perspective, that ranks whisky as the fifth most likely investment option out of 15 for investors in the next three years (behind real estate, cryptocurrency, gold ETFs, and commodities, respectively). Other assets on the survey include wine, art, jewelry, precious metals, and classic cars.
When you compare the whisky market to the S&P500, it’s easy to see how stable investing in premium Scotch is. While the S&P500 dipped 324.89 points at the start of the pandemic, the Scotch market simply leveled off before continuing its steady rise.
The stability of the whisky market can be compared to the stability of the gold market. Nonetheless, Scotch appreciates more consistently and increases value at a higher rate. To visualize the difference, in the past 10 years gold has had an average yearly appreciation of 4.57% and whisky has never been below 10%.
When it comes to traditional investment assets, whisky has proven itself to be a promising and profitable addition to portfolio diversification… When it comes to luxury investment assets, it is clearly the top choice.
Which is why I’ve negotiated a deal with my experts on the ground in Scotland for my readers.
This is how you can earn a rock-solid 10% a year—no matter what crisis comes along.
Even better, it’s a 100% turn-key investment… in a booming market that can’t keep up with demand.
Stay diversified,
Lief Simon
Editor, Offshore Living Letter