As I’ve said before, I love Jim Rogers. American investor Jim Rogers is a legend in the commodities world. He created the Rogers International Commodities Index and is the chairman of Beeland Interests, Inc. and Rogers Holdings. Mr. Rogers and George Soros co-founded the Quantum Fund, a privately owned hedge fund that eventually ended up broke the Bank of England in 1992, forcing the institution to devalue the British pound.
Currently living in Singapore, Mr. Rogers continues to promote a free market from an Austrian perspective. Politically speaking, I find myself almost always agreeing with his thoughts.
This successful investor has long been a fan of commodities. He contends that commodities investments are one of the best over the long-term, taking an opposite stand from conventional lines of investment thought. His move to Singapore in December 2007 was reportedly due to the investment potential held by Asian markets.
In a November 2010 speech at Balliol College, part of Oxford University, Mr. Rogers encouraged students to study mining rather finance. He noted that power is shifting to entities that produce real goods like raw materials and commodities. He’s also repeatedly encouraged students to study farming and agriculture, saying that we’re soon entering a mega-bull market for agricultural products.
In February 2011, the Rogers Global Resources Equity Index was announced. This index fund focuses on top companies in the energy, metals, mining, agriculture, and alternative energy sectors. Mr. Rogers claims that only very liquid companies with excellent reputations are included in this index.
In an Economic Times interview in January 2012, Mr. Rogers reported that he was short on the indexes in most emerging global markets including India, Indonesia, and Brazil. He claimed not to be extremely bearish for 2012. Dozens of elections will happen this year so the federal reserve and many central banks will be printing money to support re-election. When this money printing begins, he believes that commodity prices will automatically increase. He feels that 2013 and 2014 will be rough years so investors should prepare themselves.
When asked whether gold would repeat its excellent 2011 gain of nearly 20 percent this year, Mr. Rogers said he did not know. He reported that he will not be selling his holdings of the precious metal and though an increase could occur, he would not be surprised if the metal continues to consolidate. The metal has been increasing for 11 consecutive years but has been consolidating for the past three months. He wants this to happen because this will make conditions much better for investors.
At the end of February, Mr. Rogers was interviewed by CNBC regarding the developments in Greece and its affect on U.S. and European markets. He noted that the U.S. will be affected by the situation in Europe, as the European economy is the largest in the world. In another recent interview, Mr. Rogers said that the U.S. is actually in a worse situation than Europe and with debt increasing, things will get worse. He commented that the way to deal with too much debt is not to create more debt.
Mr. Rogers recommended that investors hold real assets such as commodities to protect themselves. He felt that silver was a better investment than gold due to the sustained increase in gold prices and depressed value of silver. Mr. Rogers has also recently revealed that rather than buying into the unstable market, he is waiting for the best opportunity. His philosophy is that in order to make money, investors must own “real things.”
What Mr. Rogers is most likely waiting for is the consolidation of gold to lead to a decline. He has stated that he hopes gold prices will fall so he can purchase more of the precious metal. With central banks poised to print more money, he just might get his wish. Buying this metal will provide protection during the more dire economic times he believes are ahead.
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