Viewing entries tagged
Gold Investor Series
Ask most people that work in finance what they think about Bitcoin, and the likely response will be; “it’s a bubble”.
Google certainly seems to think so too, with “Bitcoin is a Bubble” returning 31,800,000 results, proof of how many times people have, incorrectly so far, called a top in the price of the world’s most famous cryptocurrency.
When we talk about the correlation in prices for assets traded in financial markets we are referring to how closely those prices mimic each other.
Highly correlated assets tend to move in the same direction most of the time. A good example is the shares in our four major banks, which tend to move in unison most days, unless there is some news (either good or bad) that only affects one of the companies.
The value of a gold miner is based on the gold price but provides the investor with the opportunity to achieve a return in excess of the rise in the price of gold.
Recent investor articles have focused on investment in gold, be it physical or other products liked to the gold price. Those looking for exposure to gold prices can also invest in the producers of the gold itself.
The most common question first-time gold buyers ask is whether they should buy a coin or bar.
However, there are a wide range of options beyond just coins and bars, and here are the key options.
When you are thinking of buying gold the first thing you should consider is where you are going to store your gold, as it affects what form of gold you may buy as well as who to buy it from.
There are three main ways to store gold.
One question we are often asked at ABC Bullion is; how much gold or silver should I hold in my portfolio?
Discover some of the factors and options according to Chief Economist Jordan Eliseo.
Discover the eight reasons why Australian investors should consider including physical gold in their investment portfolio. Here is number 2.
2. Gold is a natural holding in low “real” interest rate environments
What are the eight key reasons why Australian investors should look at investing in physical gold as part of their investment portfolio? Here is the first.
Reason 1. Gold has demonstrated strong long-term returns in its own right.
In the last big bull market in gold in the 1970s, buying gold was straightforward with only a few options to choose from.
Today, investors are spoilt for choice, making the decision a lot more complex and confusing.
The gold industry is very particular when it comes to measuring gold, which is not surprising considering how valuable it is relative to its size.
While many countries moved to metric system, the precious metals industry globally continued to use the historic troy ounce as its basic unit of measure. If you think it is an unfair advantage for countries that didn’t change, like the USA, you would be wrong as a troy ounce is not the same as an ounce – is it actually heavier. It is its own unique measurement unit.
When buying gold how do you know which brands to trust? How can you ensure you don’t get short changed on weight or purity?
Last month, Jordan Eliseo discussed the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) accreditation process. While the LBMA’s “good delivery” only covers 400oz bars which would be out of the reach of most investors, accreditation ensures that the refining and bar manufacturing processes of an accredited company is of the highest standard. As a result, investors trust that any of the smaller bars produced by LBMA refineries will be of the stated weight and purity. A list of accredited refineries can be found on the LBMA’s website here.
Despite the fact it is produced around the world, and purchased by a diverse range of investors all over the globe, trading in the wholesale physical gold market is still centered in London.
The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) is an international trade association, representing the London market for gold and silver bullion. It was set up in 1987 by the Bank of England (BoE), which was the bullion market regulator at the time.
Why is money like oxygen? There is a lot of it around, and we use it all the time. Like oxygen, not surprisingly, we end up taking it for granted.
Find out the role of gold as a monetary asset and why it has been well understood across the centuries.
Stock to flow is arguably the most important concept for investors to understand in order to appreciate why gold is not a ‘commodity’, but rather a monetary metal.
Stock to flow is calculated simply by dividing the total existing supply of a particular commodity by the annual production of that commodity.
In our last article on gold supply, we mentioned that one needs to be careful applying conventional commodity supply/demand analysis to gold.
Unlike many commodities, the share of industrial uses is very small, less than 10%. Most gold demand is either jewellery or investment of one sort or another.
When looking at any commodity, mine supply is an important factor into the overall supply/demand balance. The cost involved in getting a mine into operation can mean that they will continue to operate and produce their commodity at a consistent rate as long as the market price is above cash costs. The time involved in finding and building a mine can mean that increases in price do not result in new supply immediately coming into the market – often that occurs years later.
When you buy gold you become part of not insignificant community who hold over 6,000 million troy ounces. This is the amount of gold that research firms like Thomson Reuters GFMS estimate exists across the globe – around 187,000 tonnes worth $7.13 trillion dollars.
However, since people are unlikely to truthfully answer a telephone survey about how much gold they have (particularly if they store it at home), how do research firms come up with their estimate?
