With our economy finally recovering from a terrible recession and the possibility of another financial collapse in the coming months, it can be difficult to decide whether or not to invest. Is investing during a bad economy good, or bad?

Residential real estate invest has done surprisingly well for investors during the housing depression.

Large, affordable inventories of distress sales, foreclosures and short sales, have put real estate investing in reach of millions of investors who never would have considered it. Returns of eight percent or better have encourages more than two dozen well-funded private equity investors to enter the market, creating additional demand for well-managed Investors saw their share of non-distressed property purchases inch higher from 11.3 percent to 12.2 percent over the past five months, according to Campbell Surveys.

While there are many bad investments that you should avoid during a down economy, there are also of plenty positive ones, too. Forbes “Portfolio Strategy” columnist Ken Fisher knows exactly how to make good investing decisions. Make sure you read books by Ken Fisher so you know exactly how to make good investing decisions. Check out this list of things to invest in that could still make you money during a down economy, and see if investing in any of these is a smart decision for you and your money.

Pharmaceutical Industry

It’s a widely accepted fact that beer sales go up as the economy goes down. The pharmaceutical industry is similar in that way. While there is no known study behind it, many people believe that more people get sick during bad economies. Even if that’s not true, humans will never stop getting sick, regardless of the economy.

There will always be high demand for medicine, and the companies that make these medicines know that. That’s why investing in a pharmaceutical company is a solid, recession-proof investment that you can hold on to for years, regardless of the economy.

Entertainment Industry

Investing in different areas of the entertainment industry usually works out to be a recession-proof investment. Movie theatre ticket sales often rise as the economy dips into recession, as people try and escape reality. You likely won’t see investments in this industry depreciate during a recession, and you should even see a spike in growth.

There’s a reason that Hollywood’s “Golden Age” of the 1930s coincidentally coincided with the Great Depression. People seek outlets during bad times, and turn to entertainment, liquor, and tobacco. People are also more likely to take a big vacation during a recession, so investing in areas relating to travel tends to be a good recession-proof investment.

Oil and Gas

Investing in oil stocks will keep your portfolio afloat during hard times, as gasoline tends to always be in demand. Oil and gas are not going away any time soon, and will keep a steady cash flow as long as you hold onto it. No matter the economy, an investment into this industry is a smart one. As long as our society remains as oil dependant as we are right now, you’ll rarely lose money investing in oil and gas.

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