Andy Hagans is a co-founder of ETF Database, and he occasionally contributes articles to ETFdb.com. He is also the co-founder and Editor-at-Large for Commodity HQ, working closely with Senior Analyst Jared Cummans to confirm coverage topics and editorial voice. Andy's interests include hard assets and dividend-paying stocks.
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Posts By Andy
As last week’s QE3 announcement juiced equities, valuations began to look stretched according to some long-term metrics (such as the Shiller PE, which approached 24). The Bulls certainly proved to be in the majority as the market’s upward move was substantial, but as gold prices surged after the QE3 announcement as well, it was clear that some investors were growing increasingly wary of inflation and general market frothiness.
We’ve all heard of TIP, right? If you’re a long term commodities investor that buys on the dips, you might use this highly liquid ETF as the short term place for your dry powder. In theory, it protects from inflation, since the ETF holds only Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS). In practice, the return on these TIPS is based on the movement of the CPI over time. Is this a problem? Depends whom you ask.
This week’s Barron’s points to recent World Gold Council data showing enormous gold purchases by central banks over the past year. These purchases are most likely not a temporary tactical move, but rather a powerful long term trend that will continue for years, if not decades. But wait: don’t the central banks want us “normies” to buy up more equities, invest and spend with record amounts of fiat currency, and heckle the gold bugs for their hilarious foolishness? It appears to be a case of “Do as I say, not a I do.”
When a precious metals investor decides to “get physical”, he often begins with a silver purchase, even before getting to gold. The low price of entry (relative to other precious metals) makes a physical investment in silver possible even with a very small amount of capital. And with a first investment in physical silver, a popular choice is, of course, the silver bullion coin. But which silver coin is the most popular?
Today’s investment outlook entry at PIMCO is a great read. Bill Gross, perhaps as much as anyone in the world, has benefited by the incredible performance of fixed income (relative to equities) over the past 30 years. So when he questions the future efficacy of investment in sovereign fixed income–and even mentions the term “hard money“–we listen.
When a gold investor decides to take the leap and “get physical”, the usual first step is the purchase of a gold bullion coin. Many investors in the US, with good reason, are attracted to the American Gold Eagle coin, for its liquidity, convenience, and wide availability. The AGE however is not the only game in town; many other countries’ gold bullion coins approach (and possibly equal or surpass) the popularity of the American Gold Eagle in many parts of the world. [See also: 50 Ways to Invest in Gold.]
