The eurozone crisis has made investing anything but easy. But there are still ways to profit, says Bengt Saelensminde. Here, he looks back over three recent trades to see how they've fared.
Last year, Nicolas Sarkozy pointed out that European banks could make serious profits by taking out cheap loans from the European Central Bank(ECB) and investing the money in the region's government bonds. And European banks really took his advice to heart. Billions have been poured into Italian and Spanish debt since then. And the 'Sarkozy trade' has been one of the most popular trades of the year.
Here at The Right Side we couldn't quite understand, or should I say believe this, farcical European Ponzi scheme. And we were right it's already falling apart. And there could be devastating consequences for European banks in the months ahead.
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How does that affect us? Well there are ways to prosper in these tumultuous markets.
Today, I'll go over three of our recent trading ideas; and how we're getting on in the light of today's European troubles. And I'll point out exactly what I'm doing to prepare for the very dangerous banking crisis that's coming.
One giant Ponzi scheme in action
Let's start by breaking down exactly how the 'Sarkozy trade' works
Basically, the ECB gives a load of rotten European banks some cheap money (interest is set at just 1%). The banks then go out and buy dodgy eurozone sovereign debt, which pays them, say, 5% interest. Thus the banks look like they're making good money (which is what it's all about, isn't it?). And we also get a bid put under those dodgy Spanish, Portuguese and Italian government bonds. Everyone's a winner.
But it couldn't last.
Now, a mere four months into the plan and it's starting to fall apart. The price of Spanish and Italian bonds is, once again, falling like a stone. Investorssuch asthe Norwegian petroleum fund (as we discussed a few weeks back) have been delighted to dump their European bonds on these muppet banks.
Anyway, now that the price is going down again things are arguably even worse for the European banks involved. They're now facing losses on this euro-disaster paper. As I said at the time: "Remember, these guys are buying the bonds for a carry trade maybe they make 5% a year. But what good is a 5% profit if the value of your bonds get cut in half (or worse, as has been the case with Greece)?"
The International Monetary Fund (the IMF) can sense trouble ahead. They've asked members to pony up some cash and get the funds in place before disaster strikes.
Osborne did his bit for the cause. He said the UK will be good for another £10bn. Most of the rest of the world put their hands in their pockets too. Christine Lagarde and her team have got some $400bn of pledges in place.
Though she's said that this money isn't earmarked for any particular issue, this has Euro bail-out' written all over it.
The euro crisis is getting bigger and more dangerous by the day. The way it's being managed is destroying wealth and sucking in fresh cash to replace it. And while the authoritarians refuse to allow the weaker members out of the euro currency area, things are only going to get worse.That's always been my view and I'm sticking to it.
I've been looking for ways to protect and prosper, despite what's going on.
Three great trades to consider
One of the most obvious ways to profit from a member of the currency zone leaving was a spread bet on exactly that. And that bet was offered by a company called WorldSpreads. Unfortunately, WorldSpreads went bust. And apart from a load of hassle in getting my funds back, it's left me without exposure to what I think was a cracking little wager.
But I've got a few other irons in the fire...
Another trade I talked about was a punt on the return of volatility' that is, go long the VIX with a spread bet.
In March, the VIX had settled down to the mid-teens area and I suggested that it was only a matter of time before the fear gauge would break out again.
Source: Yahoo!
And it did. The April contract broke briefly to the mid-twenties over Easter. And if you had a limit order to sell (or you monitor your bets closely), you may have made a good profit.
But overall, this has been a difficult bet. I warned readers that we'dprobably see a loss before we booked a profit. And unless you booked your profit while the going was good, then losses are more likely to have come your way.
I'm going to go into this bet in a bit more detail soon, as there are complications. Specifically, the costs of roll-over. We'll see how we can try to limit these costs.
My favourite trade on thecrisis in Europe
In the meantime, a simpler bet and one I'm still quite keen on is the short on the banking sector.
The banks have had a fairly decent run of it since the ECB started cooking the books towards the end of last year. But by my reckoning, it's all unravelling now. There could be serious trouble ahead for the banks as the markets continue to dump the bonds of the weaker euro nations.
If you don't like the idea of spread betting and generally putting your money down to profit from carnage in the markets, then there is another way...
Go to cash.
Now, I'm not for one moment suggesting that readers liquidate their portfolios there aresome good value investments out there. But I would suggest that a decent 25% cash allocation is a great idea.
The markets have remained remarkably resilient despite the headwinds emanating from Europe. The FTSE has kept to its now long-established trading range between 5,500 and 6,000. In fact, we're right in the middle, trading around 5,750.
As far as I can see, we're going to face a European banking crisis. The IMF has seen the future and hasstarted preparing for it. And I have too.
For my part I'm long the VIX, short the banks and still sitting on a sizeable slug of cash.
Of course I haven't forgotten about gold. But that's a longer-term trade. In the event of serious trouble, I think you can expect gold to take a hit along with most other things... except for the three trades I just mentioned, that is.
Any other ideas, if so, then why not discuss them below.
Your capital is at risk when you invest in shares - you can lose some or all of your money, so never risk more than you can afford to lose. Always seek personal advice if you are unsure about the suitability of any investment. Past performance and forecasts are not reliable indicators of future results. Commissions, fees and other charges can reduce returns from investments. Profits from share dealing are a form of income and subject to taxation. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future. Please note that there will be no follow up to recommendations in The Right Side.
Managing Editor: Frank Hemsley. The Right Side is a regulated product issued by Fleet Street Publications Ltd.
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Bengt graduated from Reading University in 1994 and followed up with a master's degree in business economics.
He started stock market investing at the age of 13, and this eventually led to a job in the City of London in 1995. He started on a bond desk at Cantor Fitzgerald and ended up running a desk at stockbroker's Cazenove.
Bengt left the City in 2000 to start up his own import and beauty products business which he still runs today.
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