All cashed up and no place to go

I'm wondering is there is anyone else in a position today where they find themselves cashed up after releasing some assets but having trouble finding anything to do with the cash ?

Other than some leveraging into equities and funds, and without the ability to have a good look around for more property due to distance, what else is there ?

Despite my own belief that in this market cash is king and that I should be patient, it seems like a waste of resources to sit it in a bank account earning 5.5%.

Hi Gonzo

I know that feeling

I am still actively considering property but I'm here and you are there.

If you still are holding some property consider putting the cash in an offset against the mortgages maybe?

cheers
ani

If you aren't looking to invest in more property, and aren't willing to leverage into equities and funds, then there's probably not terribly much else out there other than cash in the bank. I'd be interested to hear anyone elses suggestions ?

Why not at least park the funds in a fund like NavraInvest - even if you don't leverage, I would hope that you'll return better than 5.5% on your money there.

Obviously your investment timeframes and goals may make this inappropriate - there is always a risk of short term fluctuation in your capital value ... but I guess that's one of the risks of seeking higher returns. If you can't cope with this risk (which is completely valid - I'm not criticising !!) ... then maybe cash in the bank is the only real alternative until you are ready for your next move ?

Just a suggestion.

EDIT: like ani said ... if you have any existing loans that have offset facilities, parking your money in there is always a good plan until you decide what to do.

Thanks for the tips. At the moment I'm playing the time honoured game of convincing the wife that some risk is good, but we're not there yet.

Unfortunately we don't have any property at the moment (more due to selling what I had in 2003 and not realising that keep at least 1 would have made a lot more sense) so an offest wont cut it. I've had a look at Navra and might just try something there at some point. Buying property overseas is something we're considering so maybe the 5.5% isn't a bad resting place for now as it affords me instant access.

Ah the joys of investing .....

I'm not quite sure on the time but think you can get your funds out of Navra in a few days. A lot of people I know park money there between purchases.

It also depends on whether you have something specific that you want to do with the money in the short / medium term.

We have recently sold various IP's and went with parking the money in offsets etc , however we're just about to start building a new PPOR , so I was more concerned about preserving what we had than getting a good return in the next 6-12 months.

Any managed fund will have short term fluctuations and parking funds there will make that money subject to that fluctuation.

If you look at the product disclosure of most managed funds you will find that they talk about investment frames of several years rather than 6 months.

However in about one years time , assuming we have sold our current PPOR , we will have funds again burning a hole in our pockets with no specific projects to park the money. At that stage I plan to diversify that money , with gearing, into managed funds .

See Change

There are other investments out there, Google for "Viatical settlements" for
instance.

andy

n.b. this is NOT a recommendation, DYODD (do you own due diligence)

mmm ... that sounds like one for the pedia once it is up and running!

Seech makes a very valid point. Risk, i.e. the variability of returns over a set timeframe, is directly related to reward. Putting funds into the share market (whether directly or indirectly through a managed fund) has the potential to outperform cash at bank, but it cuts both ways. The return from the bank is certain, but the returns from the market could be a loss of some or all of your capital. Total loss of capital would be highly unlikely if you invest in a spread of blue chip stocks...but still possible. Thus if your timeframe, or personal risk tolerance, won't permit you enough time to ride out any short term downturn in the market then a high-yielding bank account is really your best option.

Cheers

hmm.

I used to wonder about the ethics of making really low offers for IP's where the person is in some sort of personal / financial problems....

Might give viatical settlements a miss

See Change