Is gold the best option?

antrobus

padington wrote: »

...uniquely your savings remain in your ownership in bullionvault, even though its in their vault and you can't lose even if they go bankrupt,..

I don't think it's a unique service as such. Just an accessible online version of an existing service.

padington wrote: »

.. whilst it doesn't come on the radar because its not a bank account. ..

I'm not sure whose 'radar' you're concerned with, but BullionVault comply with the the usual money laundering regulations and keep records in the same way as a bank does. They will (if asked nicely) cough up the info to HMRC in the same way as a bank would.

redbuzzard

I've said my piece on this and reading subsequent posts hasn't changed my mind.

You wouldn't help an alcoholic by providing him with more drink.

If it gets out that this individual has his or her life savings in the house then it might even put life in danger.

You can either help to ensure that doesn't happen, or walk away and keep the secret, but it would be wrong to collude in a foolish and dangerous course of action.

sabretoothtigger

I believe goldbullion or similar come under alot of scrutiny. They have to build up 100% reserves or more unlike a normal bank

money in Cyprus banks also remains the property of the depositors

I pretty much disagree because what is cash ? Its a bond after all, 'I promise to pay'; well in this case the person who promises arranged for a slight alteration and thats par for the course?
Not property, its a debt

We should expect similar, inflation is personally preferable to absolute alteration like this but its a kind of slow default on value. I reckon its fair to say we all seeing similar to Cyprus.

They are losing 10% all in one go, that is pretty harsh for a low income guy. But inflation of 5% every year like might well be true in many countries, is that fairer to lose over 2 years the same as the Cypriots.

Ich bin ein Cypriot

. Any government could do exactly the same to hoarded gold.

A question of possession comes into question. I can deposit or have hedl gold in the Perth mint. Can they force that taken as well, Im not certain it can be done so easily.
Where as cash requires no possession to alter in worth or to take the value altogether. It is less secure

I may not even tell anyone the location of what I saved, I can just say I spent it
I already paid tax why should I pay again!

This means there's no overhead in buying or selling the gold. Contrast this to a second home

You shouldnt believe that. There is overhead on everything, gold requires so much effort to make. There is a cost to that and once you hold maybe it is a worthwhile effort but its not free to own

steevo_h

I think holding gold is an entirely sensible thing to do. I can't think of a period in recent history, that holding cash in a bank has outperformed gold for more than a few months - so as a long term play gold has beaten cash since currencies came off the gold standard.

I held most of my money in gold via Bullionvault for 3 years, and am very thankful I did, I eventually had to sell it for a deposit in my house.

Holding gold in a vault based in Zurich is attractive for me because our government can not get at it. Whilst that might seem paranoid, you only need to look at Cyprus to see that all it takes is a debt burden the country can't shift, followed by a refusal for anyone to lend anymore and then all bets are off. Cyprus if nothing else, is proof that money in the bank is not safe. I wouldn't keep large quantities in my house for fear of theft, but clearly even in a bank your money can be taken as well.

atush

I hold gold. I am not saying to never hold gold. This is NOT a metal thread about normal rational people holding gold as part of their portfolios.

So, metal bugs depart now.

What I am saying it the person in question is suffering mental health issues and should not be advised to hold wealth in cash or gold in their home. Period.

steampowered

Gold is a pretty bad investment. Don't assume it will hold its value. If you bought gold in September you would have lost 15% of your investment already, and there is room for much larger falls.

It is also an unproductive investment. If you buy a property you get rent. If you buy shares you receive a dividend, and if that dividend is reinvested your investment will grow. Even if you pick a dud and the price stays the same, the rent/dividends will help your investment grow.

The only reason to buy gold is to hedge against inflation. Even then it doesn't make sense, since you can also hedge against inflation with productive assets like stocks and property. You can try to make money by gambling on short-term gold price rises, but unless you are an expert in the commodity markets you might as well go to a casino and put your money on red.

padington

atush wrote: »

What I am saying it the person in question is suffering mental health issues and should not be advised to hold wealth in cash or gold in their home. Period.

For the third time. I'm not suggesting holding anything at home or in a bank account or building society or credit union, simply suggesting that some of someone's wealth would be very well kept it in a gold vault in Zurich with bullionvault and if its a choice of keeping a hoard of cash in a bank or at home over or using a more secure method over the next 25 years, bullionvault would be my choice hands down.

Banks accounts have been proven in Cyprus to be very unsafe, gold in Zurich held by bullionvault on the other hand after the Cyprus experience has proven to be very safe. The issue I believe here is fear of counter party risk. For counter party risk, you really can't get much safer than Bullionvault. If this new solution will help someone consider the wisdom of keeping cash at home over the long term because of their fear of banks, I think this person would have made a good step in the right direction.

Yes their savings will be in gold and yes it is more volatile than thousands of pounds in a jar at hime but I think it is safer and a better investment.

I also think their deep suspicion of keeping cash in a regular bank account is a shrewd way of thinking. There is choppy waters ahead, we've already seen the writing on the Cypriot wall. It's now time re-consider everything a bit more carefully. Which is what they are doing and that deserves some out the box help, which I believe I gave.

Good night.

jimjames

padington wrote: »

Banks accounts have been proven in Cyprus to be very unsafe, gold in Zurich held by bullionvault on the other hand after the Cyprus experience has proven to be very safe. The issue I believe here is fear if counter party risk. For counter party risk, you really can't get much safer than bullionvault.

End of. Good night.

I find such a bold statement quite worrying. Bullionvault could be very safe but we have no knowledge of that and have to rely on their statements and reported accounts. To trust them more than a bank seems rather counter-intuitive.

antrobus

padington wrote: »

...Banks accounts have been proven in Cyprus to be very unsafe, gold in Zurich held by bullionvault on the other hand after the Cyprus experience has proven to be very safe. ...

Bank accounts in both the UK and Switzerland have similarly been proven to be very safe. So far. Who is to say what will happen in future? The UK might even feel obliged to issue the equivalent of Executive Order 6102 and BullionVault might have no option but to comply irrespective of where the gold is stored.

padington

jimjames wrote: »

I find such a bold statement quite worrying. Bullionvault could be very safe but we have no knowledge of that and have to rely on their statements and reported accounts. To trust them more than a bank seems rather counter-intuitive.

Ok let's work with what you do know. What gives you the intuition that cash in a British bank account would be safer than gold in a vault in Zurich ?