Expat Investments For 2015

Buying stocks or mutual funds, wait for the coming correction.  If history is any indicator, the market will be correcting by thousands of points soon (about 20% is normal).

I read through that very quickly at first and thought you said 'socks'. And then I mused to myself why you'd be thinking that socks were the next gold mine of investment. Socks my boy, buy socks!

Like the line from 'The Graduate" about plastics.

I have had several internet conversations lately about socks, they do seem to be the current rage. Everybody is into socks right now.

But since I finally deciphered you said stocks and not 'socks' I don't have much wisdom to add. Except that if the Swiss people vote Yes on the gold backed currency referendum November 30, I'm buying me some Swiss Francs.

Sorry for the mixup.

BERN, Switzerland (AP) -- Voters in Switzerland on Sunday rejected plans to protect the country's wealth by investing in gold and drastically limit immigration, according to polling firm gfs.bern.

A proposal to require the Swiss central bank to hold a fifth of its reserves in gold was opposed by 78 percent of voters and supported by 22 percent, projections based on tallies provided by selected voting districts indicated.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/ … 0-07-26-25

I'm crushed. 

Plan B time

Real estate blogger Dom Buonamici says he'll be coming out with a guide to macadamia farming in Ecuador.  See what you think of this investment.

According to Mr. Buonamici, writing from Los Bancos, EC, and promoting such farming in a promotional email, what the new "mac nut" farmer will need for starters includes:

$100,000 for land in the right area of Ecuador...

$50,000 to prepare the land for planting and build a small plantation home...

$24,000 for macadamia seedlings...and...

$15,000 for a used tractor.

Also figure $400 per month per worker for possibly five workers, plus some part-time seasonal workers for the harvest time.

Mr. B's estimate for annual revenue is 132-198K.

Have you guessed "the biggest benefit to growing Macadamia in Ecuador..."  He says it's that it's "an uncommon product that most locals don't even recognise, thus repelling the common thieves.  Plus, the product cannot be consumed until processed by expensive machinery which few have, further repelling the thieves..."

Drawbacks:

"You won't see any production in the first four years" and the peak production on which the revenues above are based occurs starting in Year 8.  The trees live and produce for 50-60 years if well maintained.

Macadamia farming in Ecuador:  Road to Riches...or Nutty Notion...

I like it. I like Macadamia nuts too.

Ecuador has some pretty prohibitive agricultural import laws. Where is he going to get the seedlings?

It sounds like it could be a stable long term business. Not a bad plan.

gardener1 wrote:

I like it. I like Macadamia nuts too.

Ecuador has some pretty prohibitive agricultural import laws. Where is he going to get the seedlings?

It sounds like it could be a stable long term business. Not a bad plan.

Every year we get chocolate coated macadamia nuts from our family in Hawaii.  One would think Ecuador could produce them cheaper.

gardener1 wrote:

I like it. I like Macadamia nuts too....Where is he going to get the seedlings?

He said, get the seedlings from somebody already growing mac nuts.

"No electricity is needed on the farm and there is no irrigation system, the trees are fine with natural rainfall. (The farmer Dom spoke to) drives from Quito every weekend to manage the farm himself.  On the way back to Quito he fills the back of his pickup truck with the week's output of mac nuts.

"He has a processing plant and oven in Quito he says cost him around 200K.  Bu he said the plant is not necessary, most growers just sell wholesale.  He said he'd buy your nuts at the wholesale price if you produced them."