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How to Secure Your Retirement with Gold

With the economy in constant turmoil and advisers everywhere recommending precious metal investments as a way to protect assets, it isn’t surprising that many people are considering the advantages of using gold to secure their retirement. Not only are more people struggling in retirement than ever before, but many analysts believe that America could be in for the worse retirement crisis ever.

Invest in Gold with Your 401k or IRA Funds

One way to begin securing your retirement with gold is to invest some of the funds in your 401k or IRA account. Since the funds in these accounts are held in dollars, the decline of the dollar directly affects the value of your retirement savings. By converting a portion of the account to gold you protect those assets from depreciation and ensure that a minimum amount is safeguarded from inflation and economic collapse. You can deposit American Gold Eagle coins directly into your IRA or use the funds in the account to buy them online. These coins will not decline in value like the dollar and are therefore a safe option for securing your retirement with gold.

Devote a Portion of Your Annual Salary to Gold Investments

Another way to secure your retirement with gold is to devote a percentage of your annual salary towards gold investments on a quarterly basis. Experts recommend committing 5% – 25% of your yearly investment budget to gold investments, depending on your individual needs. If your goal is to earn as much profit as possible for your retirement, it would be best to keep your gold holdings below 10% of your investment capabilities, as this will give you the liquidity needed to trade with more flexibility. Keep in mind that there are a number of ways to invest in gold. Diversification is the key to building a strong risk-mitigated portfolio that will stand the test of economic trials.

Use Gold ETFs to Gain Insight and Increase Flexibility

You can compliment both of the above strategies by investing a gold exchange-traded fund (ETF) in order to track the price of gold and increase your trading flexibility. With an ETF you don’t actually have physical possession of your gold holdings, as they are stored by the fund. Instead, your holdings are represented by stock units that can be traded on the stock exchange during market hours. Although you can’t exchange an ETF for physical bullion, you can trade it for cash whenever you’d like.

October 13, 2012
Why Have Many Countries Been Stocking Up on Gold in the Last Few Years?

With economic uncertainty being a global theme since the financial crisis of 2008, many countries have been stockpiling gold to protect themselves from the possible devaluation of the dollar and other fiat currencies. Last year Venezuelan gold mines were order by their government to begin contributing half of all mined gold to the nation’s gold reserves. A similar occurrence happened in Kazakhstan, where mines have been order to devote ALL of their gold production to the government. Likewise, India, China, and Russia have all been stockpiling gold. So why are all these countries stockpiling gold, and what can we learn from it?

Paper VS Gold – A Trust Issue

The fact is, nations around the world are having a problem trusting paper currency given its horrible track record of consistently decreasing in value. You wouldn’t invest in any other commodity or resource that has been declining in value for the past century, so why would you invest in the dollar? Simply put, countries don’t trust that the dollar will hold value in the future, so they’re moving towards more historically reliable forms of money, like gold and silver. Although the doom and gloom media hype often makes the situation seem direr than it really is, there is truth in the fact that gold can provide protection in the event of an economic catastrophe.

Protecting National Sovereignty

The only reason the dollar has not collapsed is because the economies of China, India, and other producer countries depend on the American consumer market to sell the products they manufacture, and Americans pay in dollars. If it weren’t for that fact, China would exchange all of their dollars for gold – but if they were to do that then the dollar would become worthless and they would no longer be able to sell their products to Americans. Even so, nations are still trading a large percentage of their dollars for gold because they want to minimize devaluation.

Avoiding Complete Devaluation

If the global fiat-based economy collapses and currencies lose their value, every single dollar stored by governments around the world will be rendered useless. Thus, if a country stockpiles nothing but dollars, it is at risk of losing all of its monetary value. By stockpiling gold a country can ensure that it maintains a minimum value level, thereby protecting itself from complete implosion. Wise independent investors are following the actions of governments and institutions and are modelling their portfolios after them.

October 12, 2012
Tips to Invest in Gold Coins

Buying gold bullion (bars, ingots, and coins) is the safest and easiest way to invest in gold. However, not all gold coins are the same, and there are some facts that should be considered before entering into this field of investing. In the following paragraphs we’ll discuss some of the most influential factors that will determine what type of return you’ll be able achieve through your gold coin investments:

What Coins Should You Buy?

For most people the best gold coins to buy are those minted by official government mints within North America, such as the American Eagle, the American Buffalo, and the Canadian Maple Leaf. These government-backed coins are very easy to liquidate when you need cash because they are practically ubiquitous and are trusted by dealers everywhere. American Eagle coins can even be deposited into Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). Although the 2006-released American Buffalo is the purest coin ever offered by the U.S. Mint, it is not as common as the American Eagle, and of course its purity gives it a higher price tag. If you live in South Africa a good choice would be the Krugerrand, and if you live in Austria a good choice would be the Vienna Philharmonic.

Comparing Dealer Prices

Since the U.S. Mint does not sell their coins directly to the public, you’ll need to find a reputable dealer to buy from. Fortunately, you can use the U.S. Mint’s official bullion retailer list to drastically simplify the prospecting and comparison process. Dealers sell their gold coins at a set premium above the current spot price, which can be found on gold price tracking sites like Kitco.com. As a rule of thumb, you never want to buy coins that are sold at a premium higher than 5% of the spot price. Obviously, the goal is to be persistent in order to find the dealer with lowest premiums on the coin you’re shopping for. It should also be noted that one ounce coins carry lower premiums than one-tenth ounce, quarter ounce, and half ounce coins, and are therefore the cheapest by volume.

Avoid Rare Collector’s Coins

Collector’s coins typically have more of a mark-up than officially minted gold coins. In addition, rare coins are not as easily appraised, and many brokers and dealers are hesitant to buy them, so you would have a hard time turning them into cash. While some rare coins will appreciate in value and may wind up being worth a lot more in the future (especially those that are government-backed and are considered legal tender) there is no guarantee that this value appreciation will occur, and if it doesn’t you’ll earn less of a profit than if you invested in of the aforementioned U.S. Mint or Royal Canadian Mint coins.

October 11, 2012