I have been doing a lot of research on precious metals (need to get some wedding rings made), and this got me thinking about investing in precious metals.
Does anyone have any experience with this?
IS it a worthwhile, safe investment? Can it be done in Taiwan? WHere do you keep the ‘bars’ or coins (at home:-) or in a bank deposit? Or is it a paper investment? etc etc.
Most investment bankers will tell you not to invest because it is a very volatile market. Mine asked me to sign an agreement saying that if it went under, they would not be blamed for it.
I would say that if you know the market and are comfortable in investing then do so. However, personally, I would not invest at this time because the market price is rather high and it may go up a bit more but it won’t remain this way for long. I started investing in precious metals about 2 years ago when it was worthless and tech stocks were all the rage (boy, did my friends lose money) but now it’s a different story.
Note that gold stocks and precious metal stocks are 2 different things. Gold is strictly gold but precious metals consist of diamonds, emeralds, silver, etc but usually with gold as a large percentage.
If you want to get into the highly specialised and highly risky precious metal market, you usually just buy into a mutual or investment fund that trades in the stocks of a precious metal mining or dealing company. You can skip the fund and buy the shares directly if you’ve got the time and patience to sift through the relevant paperwork but, IMO, all that jazz is best left to those who know best. It’s not safe at all, it’s just as risky as the technology market.
You don’t need to worry about keeping gold under your bed. You will use gold futures, and you would do well steering clear unless you know what you are doing.
I actually analyzed precious metals for a living once, and I would not put my own money into them, unless the alternative was a painful death.
Or you can do what some of the rich people in HK and Taiwan do…buy solid gold bathroom fixtures. So even if they do devalue in money they are at least still useful and can be placed in your pocket easily in case the Commies come.
Don’t invest in precious metals…here’s why. You never know which way the prices will go, and unless you’re fleeing the country with them sewn into your clothing, it’s not very useful as a currency.
Example: Prices for gold were around $44/ounce 20 years ago. Now they’re at around $42. This means that in 20 years, you would’ve had a negative return. If you’re thinking about doing gold futures, you might as well go do the Taiwan stock market…more fun in watching the numbers and they can only drop 7% in one day
$44/oz? You wish. Gold hasn’t been below $250 since Carter was Waffler-in-Chief. In fact, I don’t think it’s been that cheap since Kennedy. . . .
Econ 101. Buy low, sell high and know your market. I bought precious metals when it was worthless. Six months later, I had a 116% return and took out my earnings to invest in something more stable but left my initial invested amount to play with. So know your market.
Does anyone know how Mr. T is doing with his gold?
He doesn’t have much left – I seem to recall he got taken to the cleaners by relatives, the IRS, and assorted hangers-on.
Gold has had its run for now. The insiders want out, so a big barrage of news about investing in gold and ‘how good that is’ will likely hit the newssstands shortly, if it isn’t already there.