Have you looked at the S&P 500 lately?  The S&P 500 is an index of the top 500 companies in the stock market.  It’s supposed to measure how well the market is performing.  Yesterday it closed at 1,334.  This is a stunning number.

You see, the S&P 500 first reached the 1,334 level in May of 1999.  Nine years ago.  If you invested your retirement funds in the S&P 500 nine years ago you’d have basically broke even (except for a few dividends). Now, you would have had the distinct pleasure of suffering heartburn, hair loss, and premature aging from all of the wild market gyrations.  All while watching your investments go nowhere.

That’s a long time to wait for a minuscule return.

You don’t need me to tell you the markets have been difficult lately.  So, I started asking my contacts what they were looking at.  Keep in mind that these are not just random people off the street.  The people I was talking to are brokers, advisors, and hedge fund managers.  These are smart people who are making money in the market – day in and day out. The answer I got was surprising.

These professionals weren’t looking much at stocks or bonds.  Only a few were looking at private equity.  What they’re focusing on are markets with major trends.  The two best right now: commodities and currencies.

We all know about commodities and how they’ve done.  But not everyone is clued in to what’s going on in the currency markets.

Investors have traditionally avoided the currency markets.  You used to need millions of dollars in capital just to set up an account.  And the risks of futures trading were just too great for most people to stomach.

Today a number of new securities are available that make it easy to buy brics money profit from the monumental trends in place in the currency markets.

You can now buy currency ETFs and even trade currency options on the Philadelphia Stock Exchange.  This makes it easy for small hedge funds and individuals to trade and make money in these huge markets.