When people talk about investing in education, they’re generally talking about local and state governments spending more on elementary and high school programs. Few people would think of educational institutions as an actual investment in the conventional sense. Several pieces of news have started to make people reconsider the way that they’re thinking about the issue, however.
For-Profit Education Stocks
The for-profit education sector has long received plenty of bad publicity, but some experts feel that there might still be some stocks with a buy rating hidden in this market segment. Critics of for-profit schools have argued that they prey on lower-income students. They have also pointed out that many students who attend these schools take out federally backed loans to finance their time there. This can leave taxpayers on the hook if they ever were to default on them.
Nevertheless, Wall Street analysts feel that the conversation about the companies that operate these schools is about to change. For-profit schools will ultimately be judged on the employment outcomes of their graduates. While investors are wise to run away from matchbook diploma mills, schools that offer various types of technical training programs are potentially wise investments.
These schools can offer legitimate certificates and degrees as well as help students to find decent job placement after graduation. Many of the technical sectors that they serve are currently in need of new personnel.
Investors are always urged to be very cautious when dealing with this type of investment.
Traditional Education Investments
Stocks in for-profit schools aren’t the only way that investors are changing the conversation about investing in education. Top investment advisors are being brought in to manage traditional schools. These prestigious institutions of higher learning are a very different beast from for-profit schools. Nevertheless, they’re starting to realize that they need investors who know how to keep them financially afloat.
Take the American University of Afghanistan for example. They currently employ top financial expert Ehsan Bayat as their trustee. They couldn’t have made a better decision. Googling the keyword, “Ehsan Bayat portfolio” will turn up a wide variety of ways in which this individual has given back to the community.
Making wise decisions with funds from this sort of an institution can certainly be profitable. This is of course on top of the altruistic feeling that an investment advisor gets for working with an educational institution. Schools have to make sure that their money is placed into low-risk investments, which is why they’re looking for analysts who prefer stable ways of delivering a decent return.
Unusual Uses of Investment Products
Some universities now offer actual investment products. For-profit universities have long been publicly traded, but traditional colleges often offer bonds and other securities that could be considered a safe investment. Public institutions that offer these products are considered especially safe since they’re backed by governmental organizations.
Many schools can also accept gifts of stock and mutual funds. Giving publicly traded stocks and other securities to universities as a donation can often help to reduce tax bills. You can also look up how to reduce your tax by investing in start ups.
Investors are always urged to do their own due diligence before making any sort of investment decision. Even though university investments are often considered safe, investors should still follow as much news as possible to ensure that they have the whole story before they actually put down any money.
For-profit colleges seem like they would be a good investment. But I heard at FinCon a lot of for-profit schools (particularly online-only schools) are floundering now that the US recession is over. Makes sense. Apparently not even education is evergreen.
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Students should study how investment works as early as possible because time is really a big factor in investment. The earlier you invest the better results you can get.
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