Forget Gold: Shiny Stuff Outperformed By Garlic......

Really2

sarkin1 wrote: »

I believe thats why they invented these

How much is a gold sovereign worth £200 ish.


Thats a pricey couple of loafs of bread if you ask me.

Harry_Powell

is no-one going to answer my question about VAT on platinum (and silver, etc)?

sarkin1

Really2 wrote: »

How much is a gold sovereign worth £200 ish.


Thats a pricey couple of loafs of bread if you ask me.

maybe people will use IOU's

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

Harry_Powell wrote: »

is no-one going to answer my question about VAT on platinum (and silver, etc)?

Not only do they have to pay VAT on them, meaning an instant 17.5% loss against real value, but precious metals in small enough quantities to be practical also attract a premium against spot price. A premium that is difficult to recover in the event of sale in many cases.

Bullionvault et al are a more efficient way of doing it, but only if you believe they actually have all the physical gold to back up your investment....;) And below a certain amount you have to accept redemption in currency anyway.

In theory, there's nothing wrong with including some precious metals as part of a balanced investment strategy. As with any other commodity.

But in reality, the gains are usually nowhere near what is claimed by looking at spot prices.

LisbonLaura

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

To name a few....... cocoa (+25 per cent), palm oil (+53 per cent), cotton (+54 per cent), rubber (+102 per cent), orange juice (+107 per cent), zinc (+111 per cent), raw sugar (+127 per cent), lead (+145 per cent) and garlic (+300 per cent).

But the real stars have been far more mundane commodities.

Like Coal + 16% this year, Nickel + 33% this year, and Steel, up a whopping + 49% this year.

Any of these in your portfolio HM?

nickj_2

if only gordon had invested in garlic with the funds he had from selling our gold on the cheap we'd be thinking now that heas a financial genius .. i think he got euros didn't he ?

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

And even with today's little bounce, Gold still outperformed by any one of a basket of currencies.

Gold may well climb for a bit yet, but it won't outperform more credible and useful commodities and it will crash this year.

100% guaranteed.;)

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

LisbonLaura wrote: »

Any of these in your portfolio HM?

Nope.

I don't really gamble on commodities. Blue chip equities, cash and property for me. But then my investment horizon is decades, not a few months. I'll take the odd punt on something that looks undervalued from time to time, in any category, but I'm more a buy and hold investor.

We do have small amounts of physical gold and silver, a few ounces of gold and a couple of large bars of silver, bought a decade ago when we lived overseas. The two bars of silver are currently used as paperweights on our desks at home.

The gold is in a safety deposit box and will be given to our nephews and neices when they graduate from Uni. Only worth a grand or two for each of them, but something they'll probably appreciate.

But they are novelty items.

Useful only for mildly distracting chat at dinner parties, much like our art or persian rugs. Nice enough, but not particularly valuable, nor anything worth evaluating on a regular basis other than for insurance purposes.

If the SHTF I'd be stocking up on ammo and salt..... Useful things.

And physical shiny metal is not really an especially credible part of a portfolio, for the reasons I outlined earlier. A very minor hedge against, well, being invaded by gold bugs or something, perhaps. But no more than that.

rosa_luxembourg

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Nope.

I don't really gamble on commodities. Blue chip equities, cash and property for me. But then my investment horizon is decades, not a few months. I'll take the odd punt on something that looks undervalued from time to time, in any category, but I'm more a buy and hold investor.

We do have small amounts of physical gold and silver, a few ounces of gold and a couple of large bars of silver, bought a decade ago when we lived overseas. The two bars of silver are currently used as paperweights on our desks at home.

The gold is in a safety deposit box and will be given to our nephews and neices when they graduate from Uni. Only worth a grand or two for each of them, but something they'll probably appreciate.

But they are novelty items.

Useful only for mildly distracting chat at dinner parties, much like our art or persian rugs. Nice enough, but not particularly valuable, nor anything worth evaluating on a regular basis other than for insurance purposes.

If the SHTF I'd be stocking up on ammo and salt..... Useful things.

And physical shiny metal is not really an especially credible part of a portfolio, for the reasons I outlined earlier. A very minor hedge against, well, being invaded by gold bugs or something, perhaps. But no more than that.

I very much liked this post, and just thought I'd bump it.

LisbonLaura

rosa_luxembourg wrote: »

I very much liked this post, and just thought I'd bump it.

Yes, it looks well argued; & polished, as ever from Hamish.

It is however flawed in one seemingly minor area, & by the time you have worked it out it may be too late.