Gold fund

johnnyl

All

I hope Im ok to ask for some view here and that it doesnt break any rules. I appreciate that any opinions are also acted upon at my own risk

I have shares in a few small cap companies and I also have a couple of funds (Latin America emerging markets and Asia Pacific). Mortgage is being over-paid, decent amount of cash spare and no daft debts such as credit cards.

What I was thinking of is adding a Gold fund, pretty much because they have taken such a hit over the last year or so. Any views on this as a tactic? Any warnings...pros and cons?

thanks for any replies.

Wilkins

johnnyl wrote: »

All

I hope Im ok to ask for some view here and that it doesnt break any rules. I appreciate that any opinions are also acted upon at my own risk

I have shares in a few small cap companies and I also have a couple of funds (Latin America emerging markets and Asia Pacific). Mortgage is being over-paid, decent amount of cash spare and no daft debts such as credit cards.

What I was thinking of is adding a Gold fund, pretty much because they have taken such a hit over the last year or so. Any views on this as a tactic? Any warnings...pros and cons?

thanks for any replies.

I don't think gold has taken nearly such a hit as it could do, given another couple of years. Personally, I would prefer to bolster my investments with some reliable, dividend paying large cap stocks in the mean time.

M.R.W.

Hi there


Can't really comment on the tactics, but I doubt you'll find gold funds much cheaper than at present. BlackRock Gold and General is dirt cheap at the moment, personally I'm buying into this.

jimjames

Smith & Williamson is another fund but can be volatile - good and bad!

johnnyl

:rotfl:

A variety of views which pretty much both match my current thinking and what I am choosing between. My concern with the large caps is that the stock market isnt that far off historic highs and these types of companies get battered if there is a decent dip. I was thinking of waiting for that then investing in such companies that pay divis.

That said, the gold funds are still equity based and I'd imagine they would take a towelling too. I will havea think...thanks all for the replies, and if anyone else has anything to add please do

Linton

johnnyl wrote: »

:rotfl:

A variety of views which pretty much both match my current thinking and what I am choosing between. My concern with the large caps is that the stock market isnt that far off historic highs and these types of companies get battered if there is a decent dip. I was thinking of waiting for that then investing in such companies that pay divis.

That said, the gold funds are still equity based and I'd imagine they would take a towelling too. I will havea think...thanks all for the replies, and if anyone else has anything to add please do

In crude terms the FTSE100 is close to historic highs but once you take inflation into account the figures look very different - more than 30% down from its maximum in 2000.

pip895

If you want gold rather than equity then you could go with a Physical gold etf. The dealing costs might make it expensive to drip feed into though, on some platforms.


I have a physical gold etf at the moment - its a bit of a depressing hold though - I keep thinking its about as low as its going to go, only to find it has lost another 5%. Providing you wouldn't panic and sell, if it lost say another 30%, then it might be an OK addition. I wouldn't want more than 10% of my portfolio in it though.

jimjames

johnnyl wrote: »

My concern with the large caps is that the stock market isnt that far off historic highs and these types of companies get battered if there is a decent dip. I was thinking of waiting for that then investing in such companies that pay divis.

That said, the gold funds are still equity based and I'd imagine they would take a towelling too.

Bear in mind that although the absolute index level is quite high as Linton has explained after inflation it is not.

More importantly these type of gold funds are way off their previous highs - in the case of Smith & Williamson it is more than 60% below so I think they could be good value now. Price 12 months ago £3.42, price now £1.57. Having said that I bought some at £2 thinking they were good value then and they have now dropped another 25%! I want to top up but it isn't easy mentally to keep adding when the price keeps dropping...

I also think it is very unlikely that if the FTSE 100 fell 50% again that these would follow suit and are more likely to be resilient from this point and fall to a lower extend or even rise given the circumstances that might cause a large market fall.

Doshwaster

I'm currently sitting on paper losses of 55% with Blackrock Gold and General. I keep telling myself that it is a long term investment and is sure to pick up one day.

planteria

jimjames wrote: »

Smith & Williamson is another fund but can be volatile - good and bad!

this is the fund i have in my ISA.

planteria

Doshwaster wrote: »

I'm currently sitting on paper losses of 55% with Blackrock Gold and General. I keep telling myself that it is a long term investment and is sure to pick up one day.

similar with me. it's a very different investment to those that sit alongside it, so it is a hedge, of sorts, and there will continue to be a demand for gold, and profitable companies finding and extracting it.