Looking to Invest? How about Starbucks?

I recently saw that I had a comment on my very first blog that indicated I should contribute more blogs on coffee. The reader happened to think that this was a 'hot button' issue. The reader also happens to be my brother and the statement was dripping with more sarcasm than anything he usually says to me but be that as it may, I know I have a predeliction for coffee so I shall indeed step up my blogging on it. Now for the setup of today's coffee blog. So whenever someone asks me what I do, I tell them that I'm a financial analyst. Now most people when they hear that immediately think I play the stock market for a living which can't be farther from the truth.

Still, given the fact that I'm constantly pestered about advice on the market from those who don't know me well enough to know I don't work the stock market, I figure I should have some ideas in mind for when I talk to them. I mean I could fake them out with talk about small cap and mid cap investments being sound investment propositions in the long run given that the current state of the market is such that there could potentially be a downturn in the current market upturn leading to quarter yields higher than the average NASDAQ quotation on the Dow Jones Industrial index. Sounds plausible doesn't it? For the life of me I don't know what I said and any investment bankers who stumble onto this page are likely weeping their eyes out.

I don't like to see adults cry so generally I stick to things I actually do know about and go from there. One piece of sound advice that I have received from several sources is that investing in something you are familiar with is probably a smart idea. For example, if you deal in IT a lot, you know what the market standards are and you are likely to know what new technologies are up and coming in the market. You could potentially lead the investment in new technology companies that will lead us into the future. I mean take a company like Microsoft, thirty years ago no one would have looked in their direction because after all, how many average people need a computer? Now you can't go any place without seeing at least one. Those who knew the potential and the possibilities that companies like Microsoft presented were wise to invest in it and are now probably sitting back and lighting cigars with lit hundred dollar bills.

So what would I recommend people invest in? Well, oil is a given. Though the trend is going for green, there is still a lot of investment in oil to be done and you can't beat that as a basic investment but it can be an expensive proposition. What else? Well, this is a blog about coffee right? So obviously the next one would have to be coffee! Coffee is definitely something I know a bit about. I won't call myself an addict although I do need to have a cup on occasion to satisfy that psychological need to have it. With the way the market is now, it's probably also one of the safer investments out there. I mean real estate is definitely a good investment too but with the current trend in mortgages, it's a mess that is not likely to clear up overnight.

Coffee is something that makes the world work. There are scant places around the world where a cup of coffee is not being poured. Sure there are the occasional stories about how studies have proven that coffee is good for you, coffee is bad for you, coffee can kill you, or that coffee can prolong your life by eighty some years. Whatever the case, we will always need and want our coffee and so it's a fairly wise investment. Sure there is the possibility that a sudden freak storm will lead to the annihalation of the entire coffee crop in South America and so coffee prices will skyrocket but the chances of that happening are not very likely.

One could argue that perhaps it's better to invest in a company like Starbucks since they currently hold the lion's share of the coffee market. And it's true, you can't visit any city in the States without finding at least one. It's getting to the point that you can't visit any foreign country without running into one (literally) either. I can officially say I've had Starbucks Coffee in three countries now; the United States, England and the United Arab Emirates. I have completed my trifecta or hat trick if you will. For a company that went from 100 locations to over 12,400 in the span of two decades, it's not a small achievement and it speaks to the growth potential of the company. So long as there are those looking for a no whip, light foam, skim double decaf chai mocha latte, your money will never go away.