If you have $400K just sitting around not being productive, consider placing your funds (start out with 250K) with a hedge fund manager. Your funds will be placed to work and probably will be earning more than just sitting in your account. I guess your next step would be to get you foot in a CLOSED hedge fund if possible.
I am sure you are just the man to tell us how to do this, and which hedge fund to place the money in, right?
Hardrock: You seem to come off like an idiot. Go back 14 pages and read the original question posted. The poster was asking for opinions on what to do with $500K sitting around; nothing wrong with asking for wisdom and counsel. My post was just an opinion on what someone could do with proper research and getting diversified financial advice. Opinions are like a$$hole$, everyone has one and you you seem to fit the description to the tee in that arena.
Whew, brother, I'm glad I just seem to come/came off like an idiot. Instead, I guess I really could be one... P.S. You left out the rest of the "opinions" saying. The end of it goes, "and they all stink." Hope this helps.
I had nearly deserted this thread because it had become so loopy, but am very happy to swerve off and turn it into a discussion about the merits of buying or renting. I owned property since '92 in London, and sold my last house in '01. I sold it because I was sick to death of all the dinner party chat and general fat-headedness of owners. I figure in London prices have gone up 200-250% in 10 years. Of course most home owners never seem to realise that the rises actually make it ever harder for them to climb that wretched 'ladder', as the spread in real terms between their existing 3 bed flat and much dreamed of 4 bed house gets ever wider. But my breaking point was when a friend told me I was lunatic not to be in the market, that she could NEVER envisage a time that property prices would fall in London, that it just was not possible ... We pay 4% of the value of our house to rent. It would cost me at least 4.5% to borrow that money - and then it's all tied up in a massive asset that may well already be falling in value. You've really hit the mark there! For the first year there was not a day that went by when my wife didn't plead for us to buy something. I felt like a heartless, cruel & monstrous man. So I bought her a lovely Lexus (that will probably hold it's value better ... ha ha), a 6'6" bed, and we got reacquainted. One day I do hope to buy her the house of her dreams, but I'm happy to wait for a buyer's market. Exactly my point. One weekend not spent in a godawful DIY store is a weekend to savour. I may well be a monkey, but diversification in my book is not tying up 200% of my net worth in an illiquid asset. Every night I am taunted in my dreams by Nicholas Taleb. I'm paranoid about blowing up. But I do try to trust myself to do the right thing. I just don't know. You are right to ask. And it would be an immense challenge. Maybe I will have more time for gardening in time to come ........... Cheers all. Who else loves to rent ?
quite a shame that this thread degenerated so badly....so what if Jay and Harry are the same person..the thread wasn't selling anything and could've been quite interesting....... another good thread killed by the 1 lotters.