X-Message-Number: 1838
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 93 15:08:29 -0700
From:  (Kenneth Tolman)
Subject: CRYONICS: Investing for the future


  Since there seems to be some interest in investment strategy, I'll throw
out 2 cents for investing.

  Government securities are the most, or one of the most secure forms of
investment.  Certainly at some point, the US government will collapse and
a cryonics organization may have to endure such a problem.  However, there
will probably be some significant warning of this, and funds can easily be
transferred well before this point.  Government securities are a POOR form
of investment for long term growth, compared to the stock market.

  Gold, silver, diamonds, and other "hard" investments are among the WORST
investments that exist, except in hyper inflationary economies in 
extremely unusual circumstances which have never occured here in the US.
Gold and its cohorts consistently lose their value over the long term,
probably partially because they are constantly being mined out of the ground.
To believe the fantastic poor value of these investments, check the long term
record of any of them.  The exception is where you need something to maintain
a rough value, as in hyper inflation.

  The stock market remains as one of the best long term investment options
that exist.  Consistently, over the long run, the stock market succeeds
spectacularly.  Even after the "horrible" October crash, within less than
a year the stock market was BACK ABOVE where it had been before it crashed.
Closed mutual funds run by bright people are one of the best ways to invest
in the market for an ignoramus.  "Wall Street in Review" offers a yearly end
cap with suggestions for next years investments around Jan. 1.  The 
suggestions made by those guys are always consistently strong (at least the
past 3 years have been always good picks, with 8-50% returns)  The stock
market is horrible if you have to pull funds out in an emergency or at your
own convenience, for you will likely lose.  But for the long term investment
that ALCOR will likely have, it seems that investing in the stock market in
some form is the best bet.

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