Yesterday, I saw an interview of Jim Rogers on our national television. Jim is the co-founder of the Quantum fund together with George Soros and currently resides in Singapore.
In the interview, Jim Rogers was asked about the current areas of investments that were worth considering.
Instead of telling people what to buy now, Jim said he would rather tell us what his current investments were instead. He added the usual disclaimer that these investments can go both up or down. In a nutshell, these are some of his current investments:
- Commodities. He especially likes agriculture. He also invests in his own Jim Rogers Commodities Index.
- Singapore dollar and Renminbi
- A few China stocks
- Short positions in US financials
Jim Rogers also shared on some of his investment philosophies. He does not believe in the concept of diversification. The key to investing is to find out what you know especially well, and then wait for opportunities to invest in that area. When the right opportunity comes, you should not be afraid to put all your eggs into that basket and then to watch that basket very, very carefully.
As Jim said, if the money is out there, you should go and grab it.
Using such an investment method could make someone very rich if the investments turn out to be correct. Jim quoted a few examples of very rich individuals who made their wealth primarily from one company. Obviously, to have the conviction to use such a method, it requires you to know that particular investment really well.
It also requires a lot of patience. The wait for that right opportunity will not occur weekly, monthly or even yearly. If it occurs monthly, then something is probably wrong with your filtering criteria.
Sometimes, it could take many years. For example, Jim started investing in commodities in 1998. He expects to hold them until 2018. He has also held his China stocks for many years.
Personally, I have been trying to reorganise my own portfolio to make it less diversified. When I find an investment idea that is compelling, I’m not afraid to take a large holding by trimming some of my other positions. This method might not be suitable for everyone though.