Discover real estate, stocks, and other investments that will drive global growth in the 21st century. Gold and silver are particularly popular commodity investments, due in large part to their historical relationship with money. Governments once used gold and silver to produce their currency. While no major economy uses gold or silver as the basis for their currency anymore, investors still regard these two metals as active stores of value.
Silver is more volatile, cheaper, and more closely linked to the industrial economy. Gold is more expensive and better for diversifying your overall portfolio. One or both may have a place in your portfolio. Another alternative to buying gold is investing in metals for electric vehicles, such as nickel and cobalt.
Like gold and silver, platinum is traded around the clock on global commodity markets. In routine phases of market and political stability, it often tends to fetch a higher price (per troy ounce) than gold simply because it is much rarer. In fact, far less metal is pulled out of the ground every year. And some people still do that, but instead of burying gold bars in their backyard, they buy stocks or mutual funds that invest in gold.
Dollars have not been converted to gold since President Richard Nixon ended this practice in 1971. Before that, people bought gold bars to diversify their investment portfolio and protect them from inflation. Some of these people even go so far as to confiscate gold. So offshore is a great way to properly store gold and avoid confiscation of gold. When you think of the world’s obsession with gold, it’s easy to get caught up in adventures and mysteries like panning for gold during the gold rush, pirate ships, and treasure maps.
