5 ways to diversify investments while stock market swings

SIMONE DEL ROSARIO: STRESSED BY THE MARKET’S WILD SWINGS THIS WEEK? MIGHT BE TIME TO DIVERSIFY.  HERE ARE 5 INVESTMENT PLAYS OUTSIDE THE STOCK MARKET THAT ARE ALSO KINDA FUN – IN THIS WEEK’S FIVE FOR FRIDAY. 

THEY HURT TO STEP ON BUT COULD BRING JOY TO SELL. JUST KEEP IT SEALED IN THE ORIGINAL PACKAGING. IN THE #5 SPOT, LEGO. UNOPENED SETS ON SECONDARY MARKETS GROW ON AVERAGE – 11% ANNUALLY – EVEN DURING THE 2008 FINANCIAL CRISIS WHEN EVERY OTHER ASSET CLASS GOT DECIMATED. TAKE THE RARE MR. GOLD – RELEASED IN 2013 FOR $2.99. TODAY IT’S ON THE MARKET FOR OVER FIVE GRAND.

AT NUMBER FOUR WE HAVE CONTEMPORARY ART. IT AVERAGED A 14% ANNUAL RETURN OVER 25 YEARS COMPARED TO 9.5% FOR THE S&P.  WHILE MOST INVESTORS DON’T HAVE MONEY FOR A WARHOL OR DA VINCI, ONLINE PLATFORMS LIKE MASTERWORKS NOW ALLOW THE AVERAGE JANE A CHANCE TO BUY FRACTIONAL SHARES OF ART. 

HERE COMES SPORTS MEMORABILIA – BATTING IN THE THREE HOLE. 2021 WAS A BIG YEAR FOR OLD SPORTS CARDS, JERSEYS AND TICKETS.  AND NOW WITH NFTs, FANS ARE POURING CASH INTO EXCLUSIVE ITEMS TIED TO THEIR TEAMS — LIKE AN AUTOGRAPHED JERSEY OR A GAME HIGHLIGHT — IN DIGITAL FORM OF COURSE. CONSULTANT FIRM DELOITTE PROJECTS THAT BY THE END OF THIS YEAR UP TO FIVE MILLION SPORTS FANS WILL BE BUYING AND SELLING CRYPTO COLLECTIBLES.

COMING IN AT NUMBER TWO – COMIC BOOKS. THE FED ALWAYS PRINTS MONEY BUT NO ONE IS PRINTING MORE OF THESE VINTAGE COLLECTIBLES. SUPERMAN’S FIRST APPEARANCE IN A 1938 EDITION THAT SOLD FOR 10 CENTS WAS PURCHASED FOR $3 MILLION IN 2014.  AND THERE’S ALWAYS PLENTY OF COMIC BOOK CONVENTIONS FOR WHEN YOU NEED TO SELL IN A HURRY.

AND IN THE TOP SHELF – I MEAN SPOT – FINE WINES REALLY DO GET BETTER WITH AGE. OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS, WINE HAS OFFERED ANNUALIZED RETURNS OF 13.6%, OFTEN SMASHING GLOBAL EQUITIES. A 12-BOTTLE CASE OF THIS 1988 CLASSIC FETCHED $305,000 LAST YEAR. AND IF THE PRICE DROPS YOU CAN AT LEAST DRINK THE WINE, WHICH IS MORE THAN I CAN SAY FOR STOCK CERTIFICATES 

THAT’S MY FIVE FOR FRIDAY. DISCLAIMER: STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS AND ME, SIMONE DEL ROSARIO, ARE NOT INVESTMENT PROFESSIONALS AND THIS IS NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE. 

BUT I WILL SEE YOU MONDAY. FROM NEW YORK, IT’S JUST BUSINESS.