German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn reveals investment picks

The day after Germany humiliated England in the World Cup, it seems that not only are German footballers better at defending than their English counterparts, but judging by an interview with Oliver Kahn in magazine Capital, they also have a far better understanding of managing their money.

Kahn says he has been studying financial markets since the early nineties, and takes a keen interest in exploring different investment philosophies and styles. 

He recalls the time at the top of the tech bubble when all his team mates - even 'those with no idea' - in the Bayern Munich dressing room were investing in any firm which had a 'dot com' in its name, and says he treated this interest as an indicator that the sector was heading for a fall.

For other contrarian indicators, Kahn says he reads the media and looks for stock tips. 'When stocks are being recommended by a number of different newspapers, it is almost always too late to get in. You are then buying stocks which others bought long ago,' he told Capital.

Kahn says he prefers to take responsibility for his own money, rather than entrusting it to advisers, as he saw many colleagues lose a lot of money after being advised to invest in ill-fated property enterprises in the eighties.

Currently one third of the former footballer's wealth is invested in real estate, one third is in bonds, and one third is in physical gold and niche funds.

For many years Kahn said he avoided funds, but has come around to them as a means of accessing interesting themes such as agriculture and raw materials. He is also favouring US and Japanese equities over European.

The paper quotes him as saying he has a large gold exposure as he fears inflation over the next few years, as well as radical disturbances in the global currency system. 'Who knows, perhaps we will soon get the world currency, 'the Globo' in place of the euro. Fundamentally investor's considerations should not discount the possibilities of such scenarios.'

His full interview can be read in German here.