Is Anywhere Safe To Put Your Money Right Now?

Almost all the news we’re seeing on television at the moment is bad. News about the jobs market is bad, news about the financial markets is bad, and, more than anything else, news about the ongoing global pandemic is bad.

These are tough times to navigate even for the hardiest of souls, and we all have our own personal priorities and concerns in these trying times. If you’re lucky enough to have savings or investment funds, you have every right to be concerned about how those funds are faring, and if you’re currently at risk.

As we’re not your personal financial advisers, we can’t give you a detailed answer to that question. We can, however, give you some general information, and we’re happy to do so.

While the general trend is a downward one at the time of writing – even after enormous and unprecedented attempts at fiscal stimulus – there are some industries and sectors that are seeing the reverse happening. As you’ve probably already guessed, they’re the industries and businesses that profit either directly or indirectly from attempts to bring the current crisis under control or services that provide entertainment or distractions for people sat at home with nothing to do at the moment.

If you have money to spend and you’re thinking about moving it, this might be the right time to get in touch with your usual financial adviser and undertake a review with a view to finding out whether you’re better off keeping your money where it is or moving it to somewhere it might turn a profit. If you decide to do the latter, here are a few possibilities.

Streaming Services

Let’s start in a really obvious place. The more people there are at home, the more demand is placed on home entertainment services. There’s been so much demand placed upon Netflix – arguably still the biggest home video streaming provider even in the face of competition from Amazon and Disney – in the past few weeks that the company has had to lower the quality of its streaming in order to cope with the demand placed upon it. Netflix’s resources in terms of servers and bandwidth are enormous. It’s almost unthinkable that they’d be tested to capacity – and yet they have.

For as long as this crisis continues, people are going to be using the streaming service providers and also paying for new content, new accounts, and new subscriptions. That’s likely to result in a spike in stock value – and therefore a tidy profit for you if you’re in the right place at the right time.

Casino Companies

Many of the reasons that casino companies make a good bet (pardon the pun) for investors right now are similar to the reasons that streaming services are doing well. Millions of people are stuck at home with nothing to do and are turning to the internet for entertainment.

The casino industry as a whole has issues because sports betting has crashed through the floor, but online slots websites are doing very well, a wide range of online slots are launched on these websites. Most major casino companies operate online slots websites, and there are more people spinning the reels on them right now than perhaps ever before. Most European countries have more relaxed regulations than the USA when it comes to online slots and their availability, so companies there might be a good place to luck.

In a lot of ways, investing in casino companies is a metaphor for the whole process of playing the stock market. There’s never a safe bet, even a sure-fire punt sometimes loses, and occasionally a speculative investment might provide a huge return. If you’re going to take a gamble with your cash, why not gamble with the gambling specialists?

Gym Equipment Suppliers

You’ve probably spotted a theme by this point- most of the companies who are making money are the businesses that can reach people in their own homes, and provide them with a means of distraction or support. People can’t go to the gym at the moment because of social distancing rules, and so they’re trying to bring the gym to themselves. That’s music to the ears of companies that provide gym equipment for the home.

The most obvious and best-known company of this type is Peloton, which has been recording significant stock price rises in the past few weeks, but they’re far from the only company making gains while everyone else is making losses. The majority of the cash that’s coming into this industry will go to established brands and trusted suppliers, so that’s probably where your adviser should focus their attention.

Takeaway Companies

Getting out to stores is harder now than it was a few weeks ago. Social distancing means that fewer people can be inside a store at any one time, and even when you get there, you’ll frequently find that the shelves are bare because people have been stockpiling. A combination of lack of options at home and lack of opportunity to top up from stores means that people are ordering takeaways in numbers. And we mean huge numbers.

During the month of February, shares in Dominos went up 20%. That means you’ve probably already missed the biggest jump that the stock is going to take, but that doesn’t mean it won’t go any higher. Their staff are still at work making and delivering pizzas, and people are still hungry at home and ordering those pizzas in bulk. There are other large delivery services, too.

Any big-name pizza brand you can think of is probably in a similar situation, and the delivery companies are worth a look, too. Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and their equivalents are also seeing heavy demand – and where there’s heavy demand, there’s big money to be made.

Even though it’s clear that there are profits to be had if smart moves are made, it’s important to remember that this situation won’t last forever. One day the crisis will be over, and eventually, stock prices will probably – but not definitely – return to normal. It’s just as crucial that your portfolio looks healthy then as it is that it looks healthy right now, and so it may be the case that you’re better off sitting on what you have and gritting your teeth.

Your adviser will be able to confirm which way to go – so get in touch with them and ask for a review before coming to any conclusions!