Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Mikejelai]

Unfortunately, I don't have the best track record when it comes to investing. What are some good options at present? Neither my wife nor I are Korean, by the way.

[2i2dk1ny2i3]

stop investing short term

if you're bad at it, investing long term is usually a lot safer option


good luck to both you and your wife

[nate1983]

I think what he means by short term is something liquid that can be converted into cash, versus something like real estate or an IRA (on the other extreme).

Obviously, don't even think about day-trading, that's for the professionals (banks, hedge funds) - for shorter-term investments, look for mutual or exchange-traded funds that specialize in a sector you think may do well (like emerging market equities). Different funds are set up with different risk/return profiles, and you can always check out their track records. A lot of them provide a steady, low-risk return (for example, they may track a portfolio of Philippino, Thai, Malaysian government bonds). You can even do a world equities index, which will give you the return from a basket of indices from around the world (like S&P 500, CAC 40, NIKKEI, etc.)...or you could do short-term bank CD's, which are very safe but not that high-yielding. Also, as someone living abroad you should think hard about what currencies you're investing with and the exchange risk.

For longer-term investments, real estate is an obvious choice, especially if you're using it as your personal residence. And also try to set something aside for retirement every month - something like Vanguard would be a good choice, then you can play around with a bit more risky things with your "leftover" money.

[Mikejelai]

thanks, Nate