Disney’s new breed of princesses can teach us about making money

IT’S time for investors to follow the lead of Disney’s new breed of tougher princesses and reinvent themselves when it comes to how they choose to invest their money.

REMEMBER the old days, when you could make a bucket of money simply by buying an investment property or a small collection of blue-chip Aussie shares, and when all Disney princesses were young ladies singing sweet songs?

Just like today’s Disney movie princesses now include ice queen Elsa (in Frozen), space general Princess Leia (Star Wars) and goddess of death Hela (Thor), investors are going to need a harder edge to navigate the months and years ahead.

Disney has reinvented itself in the past decade, and here’s how Aussie investors can do the same.

PROPERTY

Bricks and mortar has long been the most popular place to invest, but is losing some lustre in cities such as Sydney and Melbourne and has been performing poorly in Perth and Darwin.

Real estate moves in cycles and each state is different, and now property forecasters are expecting bigger things from Adelaide, Brisbane and the booming Hobart housing market. Consider buying investment property outside the comfort zone of your own state but first do solid research and have trusted advisers.

An edgier Disney princess: Hela, goddess of death, in the latest Thor movie.

If one big property investment is not your thing, you can catch the fast-growing wave of new opportunities. Listed and unlisted investment funds diversify your dollars across sectors, cities and countries, while fractional investing companies such as BrickX and DomaCom allow people to buy small slices of individual Aussie properties.

SHARES

“Buy the big four banks, big miners and big supermarket companies.” That advice might have worked in the 1990s but today it’s deader than an evil Disney witch.

These stocks have been among the weaker sharemarket performers in recent years, and even though several still pay solid dividends, their potential for capital growth and dividend growth looks limited.

INVESTING: Start me up with equity crowd-funding

Like Elsa, long-term investors have to learn to let it go. In the past two years I’ve dumped four companies I had previously expected to hold forever: Woolworths, AMP, NAB and Telstra. I’ve replaced them with new stars such as bionic ear maker Cochlear, online success story realestate.com.au and a fund that invests globally in robotics.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE

We’ve never had so many investment choices, and this offers a great way to reduce risk by diversifying our money across many ideas, sectors and nations.

Exchange traded funds, which with one share give investors exposure to every stock in a market index or specific sectors such as gold or global technology, are booming in popularity and are a favourite of Warren Buffett, the world’s richest investor.

It’s become easier to buy global giants such as Apple, Amazon, Facebook or even Walt Disney Co directly through local stockbrokers, and areas such as infrastructure in emerging markets are capturing attention.

Everyday Australians can now become mini venture capitalists or angel investors, thanks to this year’s launch of equity crowd-funding where for $50 you can buy small stakes in start-up businesses such as caffeine mouth chews, gin distillers or solar energy retailers.

All investing carries risk, and those prepared to broaden their horizons can potentially minimise that risk and maximise their gains.

Avoid a mickey mouse approach to investing, and let go of your old thoughts.

@keanemoney