Commercial Real Estate Finance

Posts Tagged ‘stocks’

The last asset you want to hold during an inflationary period is cash. While you won’t lose any zeros in your savings account, your buying power will slowly get eroded. Here’s a great list of the top 10 best hedges against inflation, courtesy of www.egold.com :

10) Stocks. Investors seem conflicted on whether or not stocks provide a good hedge against inflation. Most studies have tracked major indexes against inflation, and they still find that stocks perform decently during inflationary periods – at least as long as inflation stays under 4-5 percent per year. Higher than that, and you’re going to have to pick your stocks carefully. However, some stocks will likely do well no matter how bad inflation gets. If you believe the dollar’s doomed, try an ETF that tracks the dollar in an inverse relationship. Or stick with companies well-positioned to profit from inflation. Investment banks, for instance, are generally pretty savvy at protecting their money, so they’re going to make it their business to ferret out inflationary hedges. That means you can ride off on the coattails of their profits. Read the rest of this entry »

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Caveat Emptor!

As this recent article in the WSJ articulated, the recent run-up in stocks has given some hope to the commercial real estate market. What’s interesting is that many of the enterprises are players who typically enjoy prospering as private shops. Perhaps the warm reception Starwood received earlier this year encouraged them.

Like with the rash of private-shop-turned-public IPO’s announced in early 2007 (Fortress, Sam Zell, BlackRock…etc), I can’t help but feel a little nervous. While Zell actually sold his public company, the point remains the same. I’m not so sure I want to be buying what these guys are selling. Why? Read the rest of this entry »

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