3 Reasons to Stop Worrying and Invest Now

You might think it's a stupid idea to buy stocks right now. And I'll admit,
things are a bit bleak. Seasonal hiring is disappointing and unemployment
remains stubbornly high. Inflation is eroding famly budgets while wages and
personal income are stagnant. Debt woes in Europe are in focus, but the
supercommittee ensures that debt problems in America will be the subject of
ridicule sometime soon. It's indeed ugly on Wall Street. September saw us shed
about 4% from all of the major indices and if we hadn't seen some big up days
last week, we could have languished at lows that were off about 6% on the month.
But the risk you should be focusing on right now isn't the risk of owning
stocks. No, the real risk could be what will happen if you are not invested in
the market. Here are three reasons why you should stop fretting and start
investing now, with investment opportunities to prove the point to consider: 1.
Cash Is Losing Value Fast The myth of going to cash is that you will protect
your money. Maybe it's true that you won't see a red arrow next to your bank
account unless you make a withdrawal, but the sad reality is that if your money
is just sitting there, it is losing value every day. The U.S. Labor Department
reported recently that consumer prices were rising at a 3.8% annual rate the
hottest pace of inflation since November 2008. In short, your money can buy
about 4% less now that it did a year ago. Still think it's wise to let your
cash just sit there? The solution is to seek shelter in sectors that profit from
inflation . For instance, the Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE: MOO )
focuses on agriculture and food companies that feed the farm industry companies
that are benefiting handily from selling higher-priced corn, soy and other
grains to both consumers and packaged food companies alike. For mutual fund
investors, consider the PIMCO Commodity Real Return Strategy Fund (MUTF: PCRAX
). With $16.5 billion under management, this is one of the largest and most
respected pure-play commodity funds out there, buying and selling futures on
hard commodities ranging from oil to grains to gold and everything in between.
This is a broad-based way to play inflationary trends, and a more direct
investment on inflation. The downside is that the expense ratio is a bit steep
at over 1.2%, but the active management and sophisticated trading by PIMCO's
staff might make the premium worth it to some folks who want to deal in
commodities directly this way.