INVEST

When it comes to building a successful investment portfolio, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy. However, conventional wisdom says that your investments should include a mix of savings, equities, bonds and exposure to property.
Savings are defined by liquidity and low interest rates (below 1%, anyone?). As for equities, they can generate high returns, but come with potential market volatility and gains can quickly turn to pain. Yet despite potentially mediocre returns, investment portfolios tend to be heavy on mutual funds and equities. What about property? For many investors, even wealthy individuals, property is often an under-represented portfolio asset.

DIVERSITY THROUGH REAL ESTATE

Yet many people do not question the value of property investments. This makes sense, given that investing in property generally means :

Historically solid returns - With an average annual return of around 13.0 % over a 20-year period, residential and commercial property has always done well.

Current cash flow and income - Stable rental income from residential and commercial properties means stable and predictable potential cash flow (providing potential protection and diversification during volatile financial markets).

Inflation hedging - Great potential for your portfolio, as property investments tend to benefit from inflation over the long term.

Diversification - Both through the lack of direct correlation with the stock market AND through the variety of residential and commercial property types available for investment.

DEFINED PROPERTY

So what exactly does Béton Capital do? From the company's point of view, it's property intended to generate a profit, either through capital gains or rental income. For property investment purposes, it may be useful to categorise residential and commercial property as follows:

Office building - Classified as A, B or C, depending on the quality and location of the building (A being the best of both worlds), the central business district (which includes city-centre buildings in medium-sized and large cities) and suburban office buildings (campus-style office parks in the suburbs).

Industrial property - Includes heavy manufacturing, light assembly, flexible warehousing (a mix of industrial and office space) and bulk warehousing (e.g. distribution centres).

Retail properties - Typically small to large shopping centres, regional shopping centres and outdoor plots, which are parcels of land within a centre that are let to individual tenants, such as banks or fast food outlets.

Multi-family - Properties such as suburban garden flats, mid-rise urban flats and professionally managed high-rise flats found in larger markets.

Hotels - These can range from five-star, full-service, big-name hotels to no-frills boutique properties and extended-stay hotels.

Depots - A property with storage units or spaces that are rented to tenants, often on a monthly basis.

As mentioned above, while there is a potential upside to investing in residential and commercial property, there is usually also a downside. Some of the risks revolve around these issues:

How do you identify residential and commercial properties that represent solid investment opportunities?

How can I access it and invest in it if I don't have any connections?

Don't I need a lot of capital (which I don't have) to invest?

Won't investing in residential and commercial properties tie up this capital for a long time?

How on earth can I manage properties once I've invested in them?

What should I do if the economy and businesses suffer - threatening my rental income?

ACCESS GRANTED THROUGH BÉTON CAPITAL

This is where bonded real estate investment comes in. Property investment, through Béton Capital, democratises property investment by giving 'offline' investors access to organised, pre-approved private property investments at a range of price points. The platform is available entirely online, taking advantage of technology to make everything to do with property investment faster, more efficient and more transparent, while reducing costs.

One of the ways Béton Capital has opened the doors to residential and commercial real estate investment is with its very first real estate investment vehicle, BC Growth, funded by investors like you. The new BC Revenue, offered exclusively by Béton Capital, gives members access to annuity returns from the company's operations. With an investment of just CHF 5,000, members can realise the high returns and consistent cash flow offered by real estate. And because the platform's transparent, streamlined process eliminates all intermediaries, there are no sales commissions and expenses are already factored into offers to investors, making returns higher and more stable.

As an investment vehicle, property can offer diversity to your investment portfolio, particularly one that is currently overloaded with savings and equities. As commercial property investments can generate income from tenants who are not directly linked to the stock market, stable property can offer you the potential for reliable and predictable cash flows. Bond investing makes the whole process of deciding, buying and monitoring residential and commercial property potentially easy, convenient and affordable.

So now is the perfect time to diversify your investment portfolio with an investment of your choice from Béton Capital. And the opportunity to create a more successful asset mix that suits you.