Investing in wine

Saadine

Has anyone got experience of this? I am being told that by investing here returns of 10 to 12% pa are normal. This was a cold call followed up by papers and another call. Thanks

somethingcorporate

Stay away from cold callers when it comes to investing your money. Unless you are an expert in wines you are going to get fleeced.

laurel7172

Cold call.

Enough said.

Please don't go for this. Especially if it involves a pension.

ermine

Saadine wrote: »

Has anyone got experience of this? I am being told that by investing here returns of 10 to 12% pa are normal. This was a cold call followed up by papers and another call. Thanks

I have plenty of experience of investing in wine. A fine bottle rounds off many a good meal, and that's as far as most of us need to go - you invest in a good evening, preferably with company.

Basically don't touch it with a bargepole. If you know enough about wine to even have a chance of breaking even, you don't need to come on her to seek confirmation.

The rule on good investments is simple. YOU seek THEM out, with research and personal knowledge of the field. If THEY come to YOU then it's a scam. It may not look like a scam, but it IS a scam. If it doesn't look like a scam to you then you haven't discovered the scammy bit yet, but put any money this way and you'll discover it soon enough.

Might be an idea to change your phone number. Once these toads discover you can be hooked, they sell your number to other parasites who will pester you with great investment opportunities. The opportunity is for the scammer to relieve you of your hard-earned money.

ColdIron

Cold call = scam
You gave them your details? Probably not your finest decision

planteria

steer well clear.
if anyone wants to invest in wine, they can research it themselves, and buy a couple of cases of bordeaux. 2005 was a great year, that right?
buying from some joey who cold calls you is always a bad idea.

Reaper

Nobody should invest in wine without having a good read of this web site (don't be put off by the amateurish design)
http://www.investdrinks.org/ EDIT: Some of that site is getting a bit out of date, the latest news gets posted here if you needs updates: http://investdrinks-blog.blogspot.co.uk/
And here is some advice from the police:
http://content.met.police.uk/Article/Investing-in-fine-wine/1400013278591/1400013278591

But in brief as said above the fact you were cold called pretty much means you are going to be ripped off.

Mr_K

An even better idea, never give your phone number out so you don't get cold calls in the first place.

Saadine

Thanks Peeps, I'm clearly at the stage in life where I need others to remind me what is common sense. Thanks to everyone!:beer: Best wishes Amer

Jim_B_3

The only good thing about investing in wine is that it's a liquid asset. I'm so sorry.

More seriously, at the moment, I expect to make that kind of return on very dull, quite conservative funds.

A cold call about a massively risky investment on something that doesn't produce any value (by which I mean, a company does actually intend to sell things and make profit, but a bottle of wine just sits there) but you just hold onto (with storage costs) in the hope that someone in the future will want to buy it from you for more than you paid for it, that says it might make about the same as a conservative, diverse investment in companies that actually produce something? Doesn't sound like a good idea, and if you have an appetite for that level of risk, there are some far, far better prospects around.

brasso

Jim_B wrote: »

...a massively risky investment on something that doesn't produce any value (by which I mean, a company does actually intend to sell things and make profit, but a bottle of wine just sits there)

You're missing one crucial thing. If the wine is well chosen and properly stored, it will improve, and therefore be worth more as time goes on. (Yes, the quality will eventually plateau and then gradually deteriorate, so timing is everything.) The top wines will always be in demand from enthusiasts, specialist wine merchants, restaurants, hotels and even other investors.

So all things being equal, the wine does produce value -- and I'd argue that the value increase is actually much more predictable than the state of the economy or the success of a particular business.

Does this make wine a good investment? A resounding YES, followed by a resounding BUT....

BUT... you should NEVER buy through an opaque scheme with brokers and consultants and advisors, or any 'investment product' where you are simply buying shares or certificates or promises, and trusting other people. You have to do it yourself, or in partnership with someone you totally trust AND who is genuinely knowledgeable. It is 100% critical that you know what you're buying; that you buy it at the right time from the right source; that it is stored properly; and that it's sold at the right time.

This still doesn't guarantee anything because life is unpredictable: an economic crisis, the emergence of new wine markets, changes in wine drinking trends, fear of counterfeiting, and all sorts of other stuff. But of course, in the unlikely event of the market collapsing, you can at least drink the wine!

This subject has been discussed a few times. Check out:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4661439

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3905153

If anyone wants to learn more, drop me a PM and I'll try to advise how to proceed. (I've zero financial interest in this. I used to work in the wine business, years ago, but now I'm just an enthusiast who buys the odd case here and there.)