My brother-in-law is a hot shot investor, and aside from the usual run-ins at family get-together’s we rarely communicate. But about two years ago, he gave me a call, and let me know his feelings on the state of the economy, and the state of investing as he saw it. He wanted to give me a free heads-up, not to sell me anything, but to help me to protect the assets of my family.
He basically told me to reduce my holdings of equities, and increase the ratio’s of gold and silver in my portfolio, as they act as a safe-haven in times of economic turmoil. To be honest, I had absolutely ZERO precious metals in my portfolio.
His advice: begin buying silver coins, then silver bars, and then move into gold, until I have approximately 20% to 25% of my holdings in precious metals. Good advice, while I have lost some value in my equities, the gains I have realized from the silver has actually helped me to maintain what I already had.
Reasons for Buying Silver Coins
With the recession still in full swing, there are many reasons why people should be buying silver coins.
As a precious metal, silver is acts a hedge against inflation.
Silver has always had value, unlike paper money.
In comparison to gold, silver is a much better value, and has delivered bigger returns.
But what type of silver is best to own? There are coins, bars, rounds, mining stocks, and ETF’s. First off, you should physically have control over your silver.
That means no mining stocks, or ETF’s, that are subject to external shocks and do not allow the investor the security of physical ownership. Bars are generally geared toward larger investors who have consolidated their holdings, while coins are rounds are most appropriate for those just getting into the market, who want to build their portfolios.
