Have you been looking for new ways to start investing and preparing for your retirement? Well, I have some good news for you – this article will be entirely dedicated to explaining just that! Be sure to follow along if that is something that interests you.
As you can probably tell based on the title, I will largely be focusing on gold investing. We will be tackling what some of the benefits are, since while I have seen a lot of coverage about it online, that specific aspect is not discussed nearly as often. So, keep on reading to get an in-depth look into that.
What are Precious Metals?
Naturally, before we can delve into some of the benefits of investing in something, I think that it is important to get a better understanding of the asset in the first place. Therefore, I will begin with a detailed explanation of what precious metals are from a few perspectives. To get a run-down on the chemistry side of things, you can check out this page: https://www.corrosionpedia.com/definition/923/precious-metal.
That being said, I will do my best to explain it as well (just know that I am not exactly a chemist). Several metals fall into this category, with the most notable ones of course being gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and then the lesser-known iridium, rhodium, and osmium. What makes them so special, though?
Probably the most important characteristic is that they are not very reactive with the other elements, which is a contrast to other metals found on the periodic table. In addition to that, they are especially shiny, and are durable in nature. Combined, these qualities lead to them being considered “precious” by humans and thus more valuable than the other elements.
How Does Investing in them Work?
With this understanding of what they are, we can shift our attention to how investing in them works in practice. As can be expected with most types of assets, there are a variety of ways to involve yourself with this market. The most popular one is to purchase bullion from a certified broker.
Usually, they are small metal bars as opposed to the cartoonishly large ones that we see in the media in pirate chests or dragon hoards. This more sleek and modern design makes it much easier to transport and to store in a home or with a custodian. Gold is typically found in this format, while the others are not seen as bullion nearly as often.
Plenty of benefits can be seen from investing in precious metals in this way, but I will delve into that further on in this article. For now, let us keep our focus on the other methods. For example, you could purchase stock for companies that deal with the raw materials themselves or in manufacturing that utilizes them.
Obviously, many jewelers use precious metals to create necklaces, bracelets, rings, and the works. Are there other companies to consider, though? Mining businesses are another one. Most surprisingly, though, is the auto industry. Palladium and platinum are used to create exhaust pipes, which helps to reduce the greenhouse gasses that they release into the atmosphere.
Why Gold?
Finally, the moment that you have been waiting for: the benefits of investing in gold. I will make a small disclaimer here, though, that a lot of this can be applied to the other precious metals. The scale of pricing may differ though, so keep that in mind.
“Hedge against inflation” is a phrase commonly thrown around when discussing this asset. Rather than simply stating it and moving on, let me explain what this actually means. If you are reading this, you probably know that the economy both at home here in the United States and across the world has been suffering as of late.
In fact, there are even resources like this one that demonstrate just how much the value of our dollar has declined. This is cause for concern for a few reasons. Namely, though, it makes a lot of us worry about our savings and retirement funds. The spending power of the money we have stored away is diminishing over time.
A hedge against inflation is simply an asset that you store that will not be severely impacted by the decline in value of paper currency. Gold can in fact serve as one because of how it has kept the same relative price across decades and even centuries.
Besides that, though, what are some other perks to making this type of investment choice? Diversifying your portfolio, of course! Have you ever heard the phrase “don’t put all of your eggs into one basket?” Well, it is one-hundred percent applicable here.
You see, it is pretty much a death sentence for your finances to dump your entire net-worth into one industry or type of financial asset. An example that comes to my mind that is fairly modern is crypto currency. I know so many folks who put all of their life’s savings into this new type of investment and to say that it was a bad decision is probably an understatement.
So, take a lesson from that and diversify your portfolio. Having some stocks and bonds is only natural, and it does not necessarily hurt to dip your toes into riskier markets such as crypto. However, having some mainstays as well is probably the way to go. Precious metals can fill that niche.
Gold is not exactly likely to suddenly dip in worth any time soon. It remains a status symbol and way to protect stores of wealth from the ravages of inflation. The fact that it is rare only helps its case here, really, as the demand is certainly not dipping even as supplies slowly dwindle.
So, while I am not exactly a financial expert, I do hope that this advice has been helpful for you. Reading various perspectives from all sorts of people on something like investing can be quite fascinating, really, and I prefer to do that rather than only stick to “official” experts. You never know who might be sponsored or paid to say something, after all.
If you have not been sure of where to go next in your investing journey or want to diversify that portfolio that I have mentioned a few times above, this may just be the way to accomplish this! Of course, it is far from the only method. However, it is a fairly risk-free way to go about it that tons of people are gravitating towards right now in the wake of the economic crisis.