What Did We Learn From 2007?

Looking back and learning from successes--and, more importantly, mistakes--is something that every investor should do on a regular basis. If you haven’t already done so, now is the time to look back at last year. How did it go? What mistakes did you make? What are you going to do differently going forward? Where did things go well for you? How can you continue that success, and make it even better this year?

One lesson many investors learned this last year involved real estate: Despite what people say, real estate does not always increase in value. A logical investment resolution for the new year for many investors would be to pay more attention to cash flow and carefully evaluating exit strategies.

Another lesson investors learned in 2007 was that the U.S. dollar isn’t all its cracked up to be. It lost value against just about every other non dollar pegged currency out there. What should we do differently in 2008? Make sure our portfolio diversification includes currency diversification.

Now it’s your turn: What lessons did you learn in 2007?

We hope that 2007 was great for you, and that 2008 turns out even better. Either way, though, we wish you a happy New Year.