Can some one help with these finance homework questions?What judgment would you make about diversification during an economic recession? An economic expansion?Explain what assets you would choose for retirement in 10 years? 30 years? This is open for assumptions
diversifying in a recession:Precious metals are usually the number one choice here as people look for safety in times of economic uncertainty. A recent ETF (exchange traded fund) that has performed well is GLD.. Which is like buying Gold.Foreign Currencies are a good place to hide as the dollar tends to devalue during a recession.Also markets not correlated with the U.S. like Hong Kong and China. Treasuries are a good place to hide at all times as they are consider a very safe investment backed by the U.S. govt.During an economic expansion I would look to areas of growth.You can simply ride the rising market by buying the SP 500 with a ETF like SPY. Many people like growth stocks especially tech related issues, as technology spending increases in expansions.Commodity prices also have a tendency to rise during expansions. Look for a good commodity fund that will be well diversified.10 year horizon: I would look more to corporate bonds, municipal bonds (muni's get preferential tax treatment) treasuries, TIPS (treasury inflation protection securities) and conservative dividend paying stocks30 years: You can be more aggressive. You can buy Aggressive growth funds and individual stocks that you believe will grow over 30 years. (IBM and Apple would of been good picks!!) Look out for fees! A lot of people like to use lower cost index funds and ETF's that have very low expense ratios. After all it's your money.Until recently a house has been a darn good investment. Look at the case Schiller home index to see how well housing did during the last 30 years. People who bought there houses in the 80's and 90's did very very well. Your house is usually your biggest investment.Good Luck!!