If you want to invest in gold, many possibilities are available. There are people who like the feel of the gold in their hands, while others prefer to own it without worrying about storing it safely.
Gold is a proven way to preserve wealth when your local currency may be losing its value. A combination of factors, including a weakening dollar are aligning to drive gold prices. Gold is also valuable for things beyond investments as demonstrated by the growing demand for gold. In fact, over the last decade, consumption of gold has actually exceeded production. Gold is a good way to diversify or hedge an investment portfolio since the price of gold does not necessarily move with stock prices. Stored gold is another way to purchase gold without the problems of storage.
Central banks are buying gold because they don't yet know what will replace the Dollar.
It's not because they expect gold to regain any role as money itself, and not because they're using gold to replace US Dollars in their holdings. Not as a long-term plan.
Instead, central-bank managers don't like how US foreign policy could hit their ability to hold or trade the Dollar. Nor do they like how US policy means more debt on top of this year's $1 trillion deficit, potentially driving the Dollar down against other currencies.
But there isn't, as yet, any contender to replace or even challenge the Dollar as the world's No.1 reserve currency. (When Sterling lost its crown after WW2, the Dollar looked the obvious new king. Whereas the Euro today has problems all of its own, and the Chinese Yuan isn't even freely traded on the FX market.)
So, while waiting for the future shape of global money to become clear, central banks are choosing to buy some gold at a near-record pace simply as a place to hide out. A stop-gap away from the Dollar but also free from any other monetary or government authority's policy mistakes.
Silver is struggling to keep pace with gold because
a) it lacks any central-bank demand, and
b) global economic growth is forecast to slow, not accelerate.
That could offer an opportunity for truly 'contrarian' traders. Silver was repeatedly named as the coming 12 months' third poorest performer, only just better than platinum. Everyone loves gold and palladium.
Yet on the close-of-conference price forecasts from LBMA delegates, silver is actually seen beating gold's rise of 11.3% by almost 3 times. And you could in fact do better than that. At least on the wisdom of the LBMA's conference crowd.
BullionVault allows you to purchase gold which is then stored in your name in their vaults. People all over the world have invested in Bullion Gold Bars. Even in this present economy, BullionVault offers the opportunity for people all over the world to own market gold and to secure it in their secured vaults in New York, London, or Zurich. Through their Good Delivery Form, BullionVault will guarantee the purity and weight of its gold whenever you buy or sell. They are also open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the convenience of their gold owners.
Whether you are investing in bullion gold bars or gold coins, it is good to know that your investments are secure inside BullionVault, because it doesn’t matter if you purchase small or large amounts, your gold is stored in secure vaults.
