Why Land is the Best Long-Term Investment

Last week, Nassim Taleb stated at a conference in Moscow that if he could only make one investment for the next ten years, he would buy land, according to Guru Focus. Taleb based his investment on his particularly bearish outlook for the United States. To give perspective, when it comes to the issue of debt, Taleb believes that Greece is better off than the United States. Warning investors that inflation was around the corner, he also encouraged investment in commodities and energy, and implored investors to abandon the U.S. dollar. Taleb is a former hedge fund manager and current professor at Oxford and the Polytechnic Institute of New York University. In 2007, he wrote The Black Swan which was a best selling book on financial risk assessment. Taleb's sentiments echo the warnings of other major market commentators such as Jim Rogers--who has characterized the U.S. dollar as a "total disaster"--and billionaire Sam Zell who expressed concern about the dollar's continued debasement. Traders who believe in Taleb's economic assessment have several options. Traders could make a play on real estate. In that case, traders may consider Vanguard REIT ETF VNQ. VNQ is an ETF which attempts to return a value corresponding to the strength of the real estate market in the United States. Playing off Taleb's bullish stance on commodities, traders might look at United States Oil Fund USO or SPDR Gold Trust GLD. USO and GLD try to return a value corresponding to the strength of oil and gold, respectively. However, USO may prove slightly risky even if Taleb is correct, as a poor American economy could be horrendous for oil demand. Traders may also consider a pure, short dollar play. PowerShares DB US Dollar Bearish Index UDN might allow investors to profit if the dollar depreciates significantly.