Help to invest in gold?

Zanderman

raffs wrote: »

...There are plenty of sites that say it is worth holding in times of uncertainty, (Brexit, China, USA, Russia and Pakistan/India all causes of uncertainty in the world at this moment)

This is the internet - you can find a site that upholds any point of view you like. Some sensible, some way off the mark.

Here, on this site, you're getting views from people who have, at least many of them, more experience of these issues than you could ever hope to gain, and they are trying to help you. They have no agenda, they're not trying to sell you anything. They're just giving some (mostly!) friendly advice.

That advice, in a nutshell, is that gold is not a sensible way to go. You can, obviously, just go with your original concept, but don't dismiss the help people are trying to offer.

MallyGirl

raffs wrote: »

I have only had one experience with investing, as noted a stupid one, when I think of investing in stocks I think that with the uncertainty of Brexit shares might nose dive and take a hell of a long time to come out of the slump.

I believe that America's economy is based on debt and their cash is backed by their mouth so that seems an economy like that will eventually crash hard and cause problems around the world.

I think the value of the pound will fall as Brexit bites and want to protect my money from this.

Brexit may, or may not, affect some shares. The type of investments that people are suggesting are global multi-asset diversified funds. There may be large swathes of the world who are uninterested in, and unaffected by, Brexit.
S&S investment is for the long term - say 10 years - so that is plenty of time for a recovery from some sort of slump.
The pound may go up/down/round in circles - that is why a diversified investment fund that has fingers in many pies around the world is a safer plan.

user1168934

Calm down OP, I don't think anyone is trying to pick on you although I would agree that some of the posts could have been worded better.

I think mainly people are disagreeing with your viewpoint that Gold is safer than other investments like equities. It is just their opinion. The thing to note is that it is their opinion based on their experience. This is a very valuable thing you are getting for free.

Like you, I also have advanced degrees and a good career ... but not related to investing per se. Years ago when I joined this forum I knew absolutely nothing about investing but people on this forum have helped all along. Just like you I came here to learn from other people's experience. I just happened to have started a few years before you. I am by no means an expert. I have made good investments and I have made bad investments, just like so many people here. Don't be put off by a few comments. Keep your focus on your goal. Trust me this is a very good and useful forum.

Here are some guides to get you started. You may have read them already, in which case ignore them.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/investments/
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/investment-beginners/

raffs

Zanderman wrote: »

This is the internet - you can find a site that upholds any point of view you like. Some sensible, some way off the mark.

Here, on this site, you're getting views from people who have, at least many of them, more experience of these issues than you could ever hope to gain, and they are trying to help you. They have no agenda, they're not trying to sell you anything. They're just giving some (mostly!) friendly advice.

That advice, in a nutshell, is that gold is not a sensible way to go. You can, obviously, just go with your original concept, but don't dismiss the help people are trying to offer.

That is exactly why I decided to post here, I thought at the very least someone would point me in the direction of more respectable sites, not chastise me because they have issues in their lives!

raffs

MallyGirl wrote: »

Brexit may, or may not, affect some shares. The type of investments that people are suggesting are global multi-asset diversified funds. There may be large swathes of the world who are uninterested in, and unaffected by, Brexit.
S&S investment is for the long term - say 10 years - so that is plenty of time for a recovery from some sort of slump.
The pound may go up/down/round in circles - that is why a diversified investment fund that has fingers in many pies around the world is a safer plan.

THAT is exactly the sort of advice I was looking.

Would you be so kind to recommend a site where I can learn about investing in a more diverse pot.

Thanks

raffs

user1168934 wrote: »

Calm down OP, I don't think anyone is trying to pick on you although I would agree that some of the posts could have been worded better.

I think mainly people are disagreeing with your viewpoint that Gold is safer than other investments like equities. It is just their opinion. The thing to note is that it is their opinion based on their experience. This is a very valuable thing you are getting for free.

Like you, I also have advanced degrees and a good career ... but not related to investing per se. Years ago when I joined this forum I knew absolutely nothing about investing but people on this forum have helped all along. Just like you I came here to learn from other people's experience. I just happened to have started a few years before you. I am by no means an expert. I have made good investments and I have made bad investments, just like so many people here. Don't be put off by a few comments. Keep your focus on your goal. Trust me this is a very good and useful forum.

Here are some guides to get you started. You may have read them already, in which case ignore them.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/investments/
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/investment-beginners/

Thanks for the links I have looked through them but will go over them again.

I don't think my response was anything but calm. I asked a simple question on a forum for asking those questions and was met with abuse and ridicule. Life's always easy for the keyboard warriors!

Brown_Bear

Hello OP,

I think the reason so many posters on here are critical is that this is an investments forum.
In most western developed countries, physical gold is considered an insurance - rather than an investment.

I certainly think you are very wise to consider buying gold - but ask yourself WHY you want to own gold. What are the threats you are trying to guard against?

The main advantages of physical gold are:
no counter-party risk - ie no bank to go bust / bail in rules etc.
protection against online fraud etc
asset protection - against lawsuit, confiscation etc.

If you're not concerned with those things, then a physical gold ETC would be the best option - low spread and no risk of theft, burglary, fake bars / coins etc.

If you do buy physical gold - I would keep it a secret. Don't have it delivered to your house or buy using a debit card etc. Keep it anonymous - as then your details can't be accessed by criminals etc.

eskbanker

raffs wrote: »

THAT is exactly the sort of advice I was looking.

Would you be so kind to recommend a site where I can learn about investing in a more diverse pot.

Thanks

I don't know if my earlier post was one of those you found offensive but anyway, if you're now looking for places to research investing then I'd suggest:

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/investing-beginners-guide
https://www.hl.co.uk/beginners-guides/investing
http://www.monevator.com
http://diyinvestoruk.blogspot.com/

as well as a number of key points of principle:

1. Only consider investing once you have adequate accessible cash reserves.
2. Only invest if you're happy to commit for at least 5-7 years and preferably 10-15 or more.
3. Diversify - ignore individual shares, etc, and concentrate on collective investments that spread your eggs over many baskets. Global multi-asset funds are a good place to start, available from the likes of HSBC Global Strategy, Vanguard LifeStrategy, Blackrock Consensus and L&G Multi-Index.
4. Choose what you want to invest in before considering which platform to hold it/them on.
5. Keep an eye on ongoing costs for funds and platforms - they shouldn't be the primary consideration but can make a noticeable difference over the long term.

Brown_Bear

If you're worried against Sterling devaluation then options such as global equity funds, global corporate and govt bond funds and real estate funds (or just a single multi asset fund) would probably provide greater protection longer term - as these are income producing assets.

Precious metal funds cost to hold - but no income. So over time will probably not produce the returns of multi-asset funds.

You could always decide to hold £10k in gold ETC, £10k in equity tracker and £10k in global bond fund.

But that's if you're NOT worried about asset protection, financial reset, capital controls etc.

You can have the best performing fund in the world - but if the banking system shuts down how are you going to actually access your money to feed yourself?

MallyGirl

raffs wrote: »

THAT is exactly the sort of advice I was looking.

Would you be so kind to recommend a site where I can learn about investing in a more diverse pot.

Thanks

I read quite a lot on the Monevator site, also there are a series of simple books by John Edwards (DIY Income, DIY Pensions, DIY Simple Investing) which I liked when I started out. I then moved on to a book called Smarter Investing by Tim Hale.
There is quite a lot to read on https://www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk - you don't have to go with Vanguard funds but they are quite easy to understand for the novice. There are other funds similar to Vanguard Lifestrategy e.g. HSBC Global but I would start with gaining the basic knowledge before putting any money anywhere beyond a simple savings account.