Investing During a Pandemic

By: William Bahl

Narrated by: William Bahl

Length: 1 hr and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

To rock your investment game, it is imperative that you keep an eye on the thriving industries during or after the pandemic. Sanitary product manufacturers and online businesses are expected to expand and increase revenues. You can also invest in a coveted commodity like gold, as it is a valuable asset that rarely depreciates. 

Most importantly, you need to be a smart investor and incorporate some innovative investment practices to survive the financial downfall. You can invest in highly valued dividend stocks. Make sure to pick only tried and tested stock options for appealing benefits. If you believe in a short-term financial venture, trading currencies can be a great investment. Digital currencies, for instance, are fractional investments that can diversify your portfolio. 

If you are interested in real estate investment, opt for the most practical strategies after collecting valued information about the housing market. Similarly, the healthcare sector has a booming economy and can be one of the ways of making stable returns. Know that pandemics might be the perfect time to invest in shares at bargain prices.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 William Bahl (P)2020 William Bahl

Best way of investing...

Your best ways is to have your money in big banks, because they have tons of capital. In fact, recently the Fed stated that big banks have $2.9 trillion in high quality liquid assets, plus $1.3 trillion in common equity.


Since the Great Recession of 2008, regulatory minimums and buffers of capital and liquidity have been raised substantially. According to the Fed, “These capital and liquidity buffers are designed to support the economy in adverse situations and allow banks to continue to serve households and businesses.”


Most importantly, William Bahl suggested that you need to be a smart investor and incorporate some innovative investment practices to survive the financial downfall.

Life Lessons--Take you pick.

While you might imagine that stock market investing involves spending hours studying the universe of stocks and carefully deciding which ones to buy and when to buy and sell them, it doesn't have to be so complicated or so much work. Most of us should consider just parking most or all of our stock market dollars in an index fund that tracks a stock market index such as the S&P 500.
It's simple, easy and even powerful: Index funds tend to outperform their managed-fund counterparts over time. So consider a simple low-fee broad-market index fund such as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF, which will spread your money across 500 companies that make up about 80% of the U.S. stock market's value.

Important work on 'planning'. Highly Recommend.

With the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe, many of us are asking: where are the best places to invest money right now?

It’s a tough question to answer given that we have never been in this situation before. The entire world is about to go on a “time-out”. Even if there is a cure soon, and life returns to relatively normal, things may never return to exactly the way they were. And some even believe the air has come out of the bubble and that we are most likely headed for recession.

In my opinion, the best places to invest or keep your money right now due to Coronavirus are in (1) gold and silver, (2) cash in a safe in your home, (3) a maximum of $250,000 in FDIC insured banks, (4) farmland, (5) affordable rental properties, or (6) paying off your home. I’ll also talk about helpful financial tips during these tough times.

Better understand the role the stock market plays

Better understand the role the stock market plays in our economy

This pandemic uncertainty and indeterminate period of disruption, the economic pressure is expected to deteriorate. Falling prices or financial crises, whether they are due to recession or disease outbreak, can cause panic. Most often, situations like these create chaos. If you know how to respond to these dropping prices, investing during a pandemic would not be a problem for you. However, if you are facing a downward spiral for the first time, it might be overwhelming. Regardless of what your situation is, investing during a pandemic requires that you maintain focus, cost control evaluation, and an ability to choose investment strategies that will benefit you in the long-term. Remember that the formula to survive during an economic downfall has never changed in years. And it will be the same in the coming future. What that means is that you can become a smart market player by taking necessary steps that can hedge your portfolio through different options. But you also need to do your research to find out the highest reward options and opportunities with the lowest risk.

Really helped bring clarity to current market .

Really helped bring clarity to current market behaviors.

Many investing experts are saying the U.S. commercial real estate market is going to implode, much like the housing market did in 2008. In an effort to contain the spread of the Coronavirus Pandemic, many conferences and events have been cancelled or postponed indefinitely, affecting the U.S. lodging, travel and tourism sectors. Additionally, closures of retail centers, restaurants, and office buildings has become widespread.

If you are interested in real estate investment, opt for the most practical strategies after collecting valued information about the housing market. Similarly, the healthcare sector has a booming economy and can be one of the ways of making stable returns. Know that pandemics might be the perfect time to invest in shares at bargain prices.

Now is not the time to invest in commercial real estate. It’s the time to bet against it. One way to do this is to invest in Inverse Real Estate ETFs.

Investment game .....

It is imperative that you keep an eye on the thriving industries during or after the pandemic. Sanitary product manufacturers and online businesses are expected to expand and increase revenues. You can also invest in a coveted commodity like gold, as it is a valuable asset that rarely depreciates. Most importantly, you need to be a smart investor and incorporate some innovative investment practices to survive the financial downfall. You can invest in highly valued dividend stocks. Make sure to pick only tried and tested stock options for appealing benefits. If you believe in a short-term financial venture, trading currencies can be a great investment. Digital currencies, for instance, are fractional investments that can diversify your portfolio. If you are interested in real estate investment, opt for the most practical strategies after collecting valued information about the housing market. Similarly, the healthcare sector has a booming economy and can be one of the ways of making stable returns.

Life's Education

This pandemic period is a great time for some to start investing -- just be sure to keep your big financial picture in mind and make sure that you're prepared for possible good times and hard times ahead.

Short Selling

In short selling, you can borrow shares of assets and stocks, sell, and pocket the money with a commitment to replace in the future after a decline in price. The difference in the price becomes profit.

Vision and Dedication

When it comes to investment, bonds might be the first of a few options that you come across. They are like loans as you need to agree to lend money to a company or government. Typically, you get the principal loan amount on the maturity date from the bond issuer.

Stay disciplined and diversified in these markets

Bahl says. “Take advantage of opportunities that come up when you can, whether it be by adding cash or reallocating your portfolio. Continue to save even though it may be difficult, because even if you miss an opportunity, there will most likely be more in the future.”

Great Book For the Financial Interested

I recommend that you invest about 10% of your net worth in gold or silver. The reason for owning gold or silver, is that it acts as an insurance policy. That is, actual, physical gold, not ETFs. It’s best practice to keep your gold and silver in a safe storage by a reputable company. It’s also a good idea to keep some physical gold in your own safe at home for worst case scenarios. If the market crashes and all other stocks are lost, gold should follow historical trends and go up, or at least hold most of its value. Gold is a great way to protect yourself from losing everything during these times of uncertainty. You should also have a good amount of cash on-hand. I’d suggest that you keep around 10 percent of your net worth in a safe box at home. This might seem like an outrageous amount to some, but we’re in uncertain territory here. The closest thing to the Coronavirus pandemic we’ve seen is the Great Recession of 2008. And back then when everything in the finance world was in disarray, allegedly banks were just hours away from freezing all accounts temporarily in which case no one would have access to their money. In fact, this is exactly what happened in Greece when their economy crashed, causing bankruptcy.

Specific Action Steps & Take Aways

Generally, you can make money using two common ways in this modern world. One way is to generate income by working for someone else or for yourself. The second way you can grow a fortune is to invest in assets that are likely to increase in the value over a certain period of time. Whether it is bonds, precious metals, mutual funds, stocks, small business, real estate, or a combination of all these things you invest in, the main objective is to generate cash. However, it can come in any form of dividend income, investment, or some liquidity event. No matter in what way you receive the benefits of your financial investment, it helps you not only beat inflation, but also invest money in other programs, serve financial resources, and save for your retirement. Making investments for the present and future ensures long-standing financial security. This will plunge into the details to not only find out why investing is important but also how committing capital during a pandemic to different assets will help you generate profits in the future. Before delving into the discussion to find out your investment options, understand why investment is important.

Have Some Liquidity

One of the best financial strategies during this period of fear, panic, and volatility is to stay as liquid as possible–while using good judgment. By having physical cash, it doesn’t matter what the banks do. You would still have YOUR cash in YOUR hands and it would be ready to go in case you really needed cash for any reason.

Another option is to take your cash and pay off your home. The three percent interest you will no longer be paying may be a great option. But, only do this if you won’t have to pour all of your cash into paying off your mortgage right now as you’ll become more vulnerable during these times of financial unknowns.

If there is any chance of job loss, it might be more prudent to refinance your home and take cash out to set aside for reserves.

More international stocks

Know that stuffing money in your mattress does nothing when it comes to mitigating the effects of inflation, nor does putting money in the savings account help much due to the typical minuscule interest rate. While using or investing your money in vehicles such as mutual funds and stocks may have risks, it stands a better chance of beating inflation over time. Moreover, investing allows people to turn tides like economic crises or financial downturn by making money work for them. Through compound interest rates, for instance, an investor can earn additional cash or profits on accumulated interest without doing anything. This often results in multiplying investments overtime. In addition to that, some investments fulfill many financial purposes and serve people as valuable earning resources. Investing in a property, for example, may yield a good amount of profit upon selling. Besides this, when a property owner makes monthly mortgage payments, they build equity. It is an amount of the ownership stake in the house. Property owners can borrow against accumulated equity as they take out a house equity loan to help meet their financial needs. In short, people invest via a mix of their assets to build up their financial portfolio and meet financial goals.

A gem of a business book!

If you have a share in common stock, you have ownership in a corporation. For many companies, a single group of stock represents the whole company. However, you may find companies with multiple stock classes.

A Primer on Building Wealth!

When we experience a market downturn like we did in March 2020, it’s easy to feel like all your savings may have been for naught, as you watch the stocks drop day after day.

Master Limited Partnership

This investment concept refers to a limited partnership that trades like stocks. However, it comes with a unique tax treatment and some complex rules, so inexperienced investors should avoid using it.

It is fun if you make the right decisions

Remember that pandemic or no pandemic, you should never invest in the stock market with any money you will or may need within five (if not 10) years. You don't want to have to sell stocks after they've crashed, and the market's performance in the short term is unpredictable -- but over the long run, it has always gone up.

Be free of high-interest-rate debt

You also need to be free of high-interest-rate debt, such as credit cards can give you. They frequently charge 20% or 25% or more annually, and if your investments are growing by, say, 10% annually while you're paying 20% or more on your debt, you can end up shrinking your net worth, not growing it. So get out of debt as much as possible before investing. (Mortgage debt and low-interest-rate debt are not as problematic.

Preferred Stock:

It is another common terminology that represents ownership and allows shareholders to make a hefty dividend. Although the holders of preferred stock do not get any voting rights, they receive a status in case the company goes into insolvency.