Best investments for 2012
| February 26, 2012 | Posted by John Border under Investing in Gold, Investments in 2012 |
If you are gearing for a year full of investing in 2012, you might be curious about what the experts are saying about the market. Since the outlook on the economy is uncertain, you might not even be sure if you can make any money off of investments in this type of climate. The goods news is that experts are cautiously optimistic and do actually think that there is money to be made in investments for 2012.
Richard Bernstein, who is the CEO of Richard Bernstein Advisors, is all about United States related investment assets for 2012. Bernstein strongly advises buys of USA assets because despite a still terrible economy, the outlook for the rest of the world is actually a little worse. That makes USA assets the winner in the investment market.
Bernstein sees U.S. treasury bonds and small U.S. stocks as the best buys for 2012. While the U. S. Treasury bonds do offer relatively low yields, this type of asset does bring some nice diversity to your portfolio. Bernstein also notes that the U.S. treasury bonds are really the only assets that have been moving up while stocks and other assets have been primarily moving on a downward trend.
Banking on a recovery in the U.S. during 2012, Bernstein points to buying small-cap U.S. stocks as a good investment for the year. He suggests that you stick to industries which will benefit from a recovering U.S. economy and that will not be sunk down from economic disasters abroad. Industries he recommends for 2012 investing are industrial and financial sector small U.S. stocks.
Dividend-paying stocks are another suggestion from Bernstein for 2012 investing. He cautions investors against risk aversion because adding these types of stocks to your portfolio in 2012 can be a good defensive strategy for all investors.
If you are looking for investment plays to avoid in 2012, then Bernstein has one of those for you as well. In fact, Bernstein recommends that you avoid investments which are credit sensitive in 2012. Credit sensitive investments are those which are closely related to leverage and borrowing. Bernstein expects these types of investments to seriously underperform in 2012. Examples of what to avoid in this category include hedge funds, emerging markets, commodities, big banks and housing. Staying clear of these credit sensitive investments will make your investment portfolio for 2012 the best that it can possibly be, according to Bernstein.
Of course, you do not have to take all of Bernstein’s advice. While he is a Wall Street professional, it is important to remember that there is no one size fits all approach when it comes to investment. What might be practical information for one investor might well be terrible information for the next investor. Use Bernstein’s advice to evaluate your own investment options and then come to a conclusion that best meets your investment needs for 2012. And remember that no one can accurately predict how the market will behave.
