Investment themes for the next 5 years

Yes :Alternative Energy
No: Natural Resources, Pharmaceuticals
Not Useful: Emerging Markets

Alternative Energy has got all the makings of a classic boom in the next few years. Why? Because carbon trading markets are being formalised in EU/Japan/US which will pump investment in this sector. Government mandates will push/pull further implentation. Technology advancement will bring in hybrids and alternative energy still only accounts for a few % in most countries. It will be the LATEST THING and has the capability to do that because it's something that people can understand (or think they understand) when they see hybrid cars, wind turbines becoming common. I would call it "C02 related market' rather than alternative energy.
There will almost certainly be a mini bust within a few years as all the money running from property and commodities and oil pumps into this area and over-values it in the same way as .com, property and commodities. I would give myself a time period of 2-3 years to make serious money and then take profits......

Pharmaceuticals will generally be okay but it's the medical sector in it's entirety which is growing and growing, especially expensive instrumentation such as CT scanners etc. Stem cell treatment, genetic testing, it's all going to add massive costs to the health service. How to make money from that, I"m not sure!

Last poster: 4 Eircom...people who sold fast made good money.
That was me! Completely fortunate as I had a loan to clear...

At the moment I'm ploughing into (excuse the pun!) farmland in Romania. It could be anywhere else but this is where I live! I posted on this before but now I look I can't find the thread anymore.

Anyway I've honed my thinking on this since last I mentioned it. At the moment I'm buying class 'a' and class 'b' land.

My reasoning is that at in-and-around the price I'm paying per hectare there has to be some mileage in it. The SAPS subsidy from the EU was a bit over 50 Euros this year. This is a non-production related subsidy daft as it may seem. With the further crop subsidy of around another 50 Euros then there is a return of around 7% in year one. The SAPS bit of the equation is rising every year so I'm hoping that in a couple of years time the ROI will be a bit over 10% and, hopefully, the land itself is going to appreciate.

I hummed and hawwed about this one for a long time but it's exactly the rise in commodity prices ( in my case oil seed rape, and grain particularly) which swung the balance.

Commodities. Can't beat em! people have to eat, right!!??

Thinking of starting a small, longterm, portfolio (10K) consisting of 5-10 shares in total, 10-20% each:Financials, Defence, Agri/Com, Tech and Pharma. Might put 20% of money into Iseq20ETF to broaden portfolio.

Sooner or later Japan has to make a comeback although we have been saying that for a very long time!