No matter who they are, most investors love gifts that reflect their passions and interests.
But what do you get the investor who can buy anything?
“The best gift to get an investor who has everything is something meaningful as it relates to the investor’s philosophy or history,” says Mike Boroughs, a certified public accountant and managing partner at Fortis Capital Management in Seattle.
“After starting our firm, I bought my business partner a portrait of Warren Buffett with a quote that says: ‘The one piece of advice I can give you is, do what turns you on. Do something that if you had all the money in the world, you’d still be doing it. You’ve got to have a reason to jump out of bed in the morning,'” he says.
Here are five gift ideas for the investors in your life.
Vintage Stock Certificates
Physical stock certificates are a dying breed. These days, few companies issue physical certificates unless they’re gifts. For instance, in order to get an iconic Disney stock certificate, a shareholder needs to pony up 50 bucks.
But stock aficionados also appreciate vintage stock certificates. You can buy them from purveyors like BullMarketGifts.com. Prices vary depending on the rarity.
“My partner also is a beer fan,” Boroughs says. “For another gift, I found him an original Pabst Brewing Company stock certificate — historical and sentimental meaning wrapped into one.”
Actual Investments
For something a little more meaningful than an envelope of cash but with the convenience of a gift card, consider giving an investment in a stock or exchange-traded fund. A couple new services, Stockpile and SparkGift, allow people to buy fractional shares of investments and gift them to anyone. Even kids can receive the gift of a stock or ETF as long as a parent or other adult is willing to open a custodial account.
An October survey of 1,000 active investors found that they overwhelmingly preferred the idea of receiving shares of stock as a gift, according to the online brokerage firm E-Trade. Over a quarter of investors said that shares of stock in an individual company would make the best gift. Shares of an equity mutual fund came in a distant second at 14 percent.
Other investment gift options include shares in an ETF, savings bonds, fixed income mutual funds, certificates of deposit, municipal bonds, corporate bonds or Treasury securities.
Investment Books
Some people still enjoy reading books, hard as that is to believe in the digital age. Among the many classic tomes on investing, beginning investors might enjoy Benjamin Graham’s classic “The Intelligent Investor.” If it’s good enough for Warren Buffett, famously a disciple of Graham’s value investing discipline, it’s probably good for everyone.
But there are enough great books on investing to fill a library. Vikram Kaul, founder of Northstar Portfolio Investments in Stamford, Connecticut, recommends the following “evergreen investing books:”
— “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds” by Charles MacKay
— “When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management” by Roger Lowenstein
— “Reminiscences of a Stock Operator” by Edwin Lefevre;
“[They] all point to the folly of following the crowd to make investment decisions,” Kaul says.
Novelty Items
Gifts don’t have to be serious. Stocking stuffers for people who love money may elicit some giggles of gratitude. For instance, one novelty money gift is called the Money Mask. It’s a sleep mask filled with shredded U.S. currency disposed of by the U.S. Treasury.
“It plays off the whole ‘thinking about money even while you sleep’ mentality. It is a product that combines two of the best things in the world: sleep and money,” says Greg Gonzalez, the mask creator and founder of Money Never Sleepz.
Financial Planning Sessions
A great gift for people of any age might be a couple meetings with a financial advisor. From college graduates to parents nearing retirement, everyone could benefit from professional money advice.
“A practical gift would be to book twice a year 60-minute sessions with a fee-only investment advisor for the investor, so they can review and debate the savings plan, asset allocation strategies [and] risk management activities of the investor in a conflict-free setting,” Kaul says.
The website for the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors can help in the search for a fee-only advisor with hourly rates. Some advisors charge a percentage of assets under management rather than an hourly rate.
Ultimately, any gift given with love will be appreciated, particularly one that taps into personal dreams, passions and hobbies. Hopefully when your investor becomes a billionaire, they’ll repay the favor.
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5 Great Gifts for Investors originally appeared on usnews.com
