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Liquidity And Selling: Expectations vs. Reality

When investors talk about assets, they will often mention their liquidity. Liquidity is a very important aspect of trading and understanding what it means is crucial if you intend to make a successful investment. Much like a lot of things in trading, this term can seem a little bit vague when put into context. Liquidity is essentially your ability to quickly sell off an asset at the price you want. Things get a little more complex from this point on.

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Trading is fickle

Desperate times often call for desperate measures. During the 2008 financial crisis, many real-estate investors felt the awful consequences of sudden market failure. The after-effects of the financial crisis echoed on years after, causing additional devastation for investors and traders alike. Housing prices crashed and the amount of time it takes for properties to be sold made it a losing battle for those who invested in them. After the 2016 EU referendum in Great Britain, property funds decided to suspend trading, making it impossible for investors to make any kind of decisions with their own properties. They were worried that the sudden loss in value would make buyers frantically try to sell their properties.

Economic and political turmoil can have adverse effects on many different investments. Let’s say you invested a lot of money into a relatively liquid asset. Due to market fluctuations, you could suddenly end up with an asset with a greatly diminished worth that you aren’t even allowed to sell. Safety is never guaranteed in trading, but you can make your investments much safer by putting them in a trust. Investment trusts are considered a much safer alternative for storing liquid and illiquid investments. The share prices might fluctuate, but they cannot suspend trading as funds can. This won’t save you from economic crashed, but you will be able to make decisions with your own assets. Whether or not you wish to sell is your own choice.

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Spreading out investments works

Fund managers are often faced with the many issues that surround the liquidity of assets. Choosing between smaller and bigger ends of the market isn’t an easy decision. When investing in the larger end you are making an investment in a relatively liquid form, while they might be more expensive and slow moving. When you decide to invest in the smaller end of the market, you have more variety but less liquidity in your stock choices.

The key to a good investment is having a diverse portfolio. Investing in a greater number of companies would give you enough diversification so that you wouldn’t have to worry about what kind of stock to focus on. With at least one hundred different stocks in your portfolio, you would be able to rest relatively easy. The issue only comes when trying to liquidate them, as it might take some stocks longer than others.

The shares of some companies hardly ever share, but if you are confident enough in their success, the wait will be well worth it. Accordingly, one way to ensure that your portfolio is as diverse as possible is by regularly checking in with different stocks and shares to see how they are performing. For example, if you were considering investing in Roblox shares, some of the useful resources on the Coincierge website could make your decision a little easier.

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Everything moves too fast

Experienced traders know this problem all too well. Sometimes you will be in a rush to trade your investment, while not knowing whether or not the price has fluctuated recently. Unfortunately, this could lead to much lower offers than you might expect. Liquidity is rarely there when you need it most. This is why you should never depend on the quick liquidity of an asset. If you are looking into some new stock apps, make sure to check out the robinhood app review.

Think of assets that are fundamentally strong and have moderately attractive prices for buyers. Investors often look at things that aren’t marked by the passage of time such as real-estate and diamonds. Diamonds are easy to sell and you can do it on a whim. You won’t have to worry about timeframes when negotiation your pink diamond sale. Real estate has its ups and downs. It’s not liquid enough to sell quickly, but it is a safe choice. Location is everything, which is why high-trafficked areas in city centers are considered solid investments that can be sold relatively quickly. Peripheral areas tend to fluctuate depending on the economy.

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Illiquidity isn’t as bad as it seems

Conventional wisdom tells us that having liquid assets is a good thing. If you want to cash out quickly in order to make a better investment, being able to do so sounds like a very good idea. However, this isn’t always the case when it comes to investing properly. Illiquidity can prove to be your friend in times of need. For example, smaller companies have shown to be more resilient towards the effects of a market shock. This is because they are more difficult to sell than larger companies. This can give you some stability when things get rough.

Liquidity shouldn’t only be talked about in the context of offloading an investment. There are some additional benefits to assets that aren’t very liquid. You might not be able to sell it quickly, but your illiquid asset also can’t be accessed in the event of large demand and few sellers. This way, investors that want in on your asset will either have to wait or pay a premium in order to access it. This makes your asset even more valuable in the long run.

 

Conclusion

Investing isn’t as simple as finding the most liquid asset and buying it. There’s quite a bit more nuance to the story. When making a proper investment, you will want your fair share of both liquid and illiquid assets to strengthen your portfolio. Being able to get your money in and out at a lightning-fast pace is important, but you shouldn’t get ahead of yourself. Investing has never been about being quick, it’s always been about playing it smart.

 

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Lucas H. Parker

Lucas is a business consultant with a passion for writing. Doing his research, exploring and writing are his favorite things to do. Besides that, he loves playing his guitar, hiking and traveling.

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