Question for Financially Savvy Expats
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Question for Financially Savvy Expats
Not sure if this is the right place top ask guys, but here goes.
There's a lot of speculation that Gold price is soon to increase substantially. I'd like to buy some. Not a lot. I'm not that loaded - I'd just like to diversify my investments a little.
Problem is you can't get hold of physical gold in this neck of the woods.
How about the Gold Souks of Dubai or Qatar etc?
Can you buy physical gold by the ounce (in unworked bar form)?
Is it easily available?
What is the premium on market quoted price?
Thanks for any help.
There's a lot of speculation that Gold price is soon to increase substantially. I'd like to buy some. Not a lot. I'm not that loaded - I'd just like to diversify my investments a little.
Problem is you can't get hold of physical gold in this neck of the woods.
How about the Gold Souks of Dubai or Qatar etc?
Can you buy physical gold by the ounce (in unworked bar form)?
Is it easily available?
What is the premium on market quoted price?
Thanks for any help.
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Many banks that offer multimoney accounts include gold. My bank charges a warehousing fee. I technically have the right to go get the gold as bullion should I wish.
The problem with buying random gold, for example souk jewelry, is that the trace metals are not documented and so, if you move the gold to a country that does require trace metals to be documented, that gold will be confiscated when you try to assay it to prevent contamination of the national stockpile.
So I'd find a financial institution that lets you trade gold, and let them keep it (whether it physically exists or not).
Some people might think you've left it a bit late to spot that gold prices are rising.
The problem with buying random gold, for example souk jewelry, is that the trace metals are not documented and so, if you move the gold to a country that does require trace metals to be documented, that gold will be confiscated when you try to assay it to prevent contamination of the national stockpile.
So I'd find a financial institution that lets you trade gold, and let them keep it (whether it physically exists or not).
Some people might think you've left it a bit late to spot that gold prices are rising.
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Gold, like commodities, is one place where investors will occasionally park money when sitting out stock market volitility... especially in times of inflation, when gold holders really make out
Buying a bar of boullion isn't the way to get into gold. There are several equity traded funds, like SPDR GLD, where you can buy into gold without physically holding it. I think it's currently trading around $70.. ETFs like SPDRs are easy to buy and sell like stocks, so it makes better sense for the casual investor.
Gold will only get you rich if you find some digging in your back yard, but having a small amount to round out a portfolio gives you some inflation proection.
Buying a bar of boullion isn't the way to get into gold. There are several equity traded funds, like SPDR GLD, where you can buy into gold without physically holding it. I think it's currently trading around $70.. ETFs like SPDRs are easy to buy and sell like stocks, so it makes better sense for the casual investor.
Gold will only get you rich if you find some digging in your back yard, but having a small amount to round out a portfolio gives you some inflation proection.
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Be careful of various funds, futures and options. A good way to get burned and most of them are dealing with "paper" gold. It can be created and manipulated.
Go for outfits that will buy and hold gold for you but are required to actually hold the total bullion in vaults.
Good pricing is difficult but current prices are 25% down on yearly highs. Trading now at 740 with yearly high of about 1030. Below 750 is ok. Below 700 is better. It may go down below 600 but if you buy at those levels you are ensured a bounce back as long as you have a long term view. The Chinese are eying the 650 - 740 mark to increase their reserves. Don't try to time a bottom in gold. No-one knows so all the "expert" advice won't help.
Gold has dropped 25% in the year but done better than many stocks and property in a number of countries. Despite recent declines it has actually grown in value against the EUR, GBP and AUD. If the USD reverses its course it will show growth there.
At some point the USD (usual gold benchmark) will drop as it cannot strengthen forever - nothing does and once the rout to safety has abated the world will reconsider the fundamentals - America has increased the national debt by unprecidented levels but has not grown the GDP to support the printing of money.
Gold is simply a currency. Don't think of it as an investment that delivers great gains. It might - but dont bank on it. If you plan on it doubling in the next few months you may be disappointed - If it does that means the currency you measure it in has devalued.
For hundreds of years Gold has bought much the same. Paper currencies ensure that wealth is confiscated by inflation so they buy less.
Gold is volatile - trade it at your peril. As a long term hedge and insurance its great. You can sleep better at night knowing that 10-20% of your wealth is in physical gold. If you need it on a specific day however its volatility might make this awkward.
Right now gold has proved to be a disappointment. The "perfect storm" in the financial markets was meant to send gold through the roof. It didn't. But the game is not over yet. If the carnage gets any worse and total capitulation occurs then its safe haven status will have growing appeal. I suspect the selloff in gold was simply a result of constrained funds to buy and selling to cover other losses. Would you buy jewelry if you couldnt pay the mortgage? Would you sell gold if you were threatened with eviction?
As a buyer you want to buy low. If you have funds buy slowly bit by bit and hope the price drops more so you can buy more. Gold can never be worthless as it has a fairly high production price. If it goes to low, mines shut down and supply is constrained.
I hold some gold. It goes up and down. When it takes a good beating I buy, when the world roars its attributes I wait. Its increased in value. Yes I could probably have flicked the money around and made more in stocks, property etc but they inevitably crash sooner or later.
I'm not trying to make money out of Gold but think of it as insurance. I get to sleep at night knowing I will always feed and educate my kids. As an asset it has far more credibility than a AAA rated investment which as we have seen recently is not worth the paper it is printed on.
Go for outfits that will buy and hold gold for you but are required to actually hold the total bullion in vaults.
Good pricing is difficult but current prices are 25% down on yearly highs. Trading now at 740 with yearly high of about 1030. Below 750 is ok. Below 700 is better. It may go down below 600 but if you buy at those levels you are ensured a bounce back as long as you have a long term view. The Chinese are eying the 650 - 740 mark to increase their reserves. Don't try to time a bottom in gold. No-one knows so all the "expert" advice won't help.
Gold has dropped 25% in the year but done better than many stocks and property in a number of countries. Despite recent declines it has actually grown in value against the EUR, GBP and AUD. If the USD reverses its course it will show growth there.
At some point the USD (usual gold benchmark) will drop as it cannot strengthen forever - nothing does and once the rout to safety has abated the world will reconsider the fundamentals - America has increased the national debt by unprecidented levels but has not grown the GDP to support the printing of money.
Gold is simply a currency. Don't think of it as an investment that delivers great gains. It might - but dont bank on it. If you plan on it doubling in the next few months you may be disappointed - If it does that means the currency you measure it in has devalued.
For hundreds of years Gold has bought much the same. Paper currencies ensure that wealth is confiscated by inflation so they buy less.
Gold is volatile - trade it at your peril. As a long term hedge and insurance its great. You can sleep better at night knowing that 10-20% of your wealth is in physical gold. If you need it on a specific day however its volatility might make this awkward.
Right now gold has proved to be a disappointment. The "perfect storm" in the financial markets was meant to send gold through the roof. It didn't. But the game is not over yet. If the carnage gets any worse and total capitulation occurs then its safe haven status will have growing appeal. I suspect the selloff in gold was simply a result of constrained funds to buy and selling to cover other losses. Would you buy jewelry if you couldnt pay the mortgage? Would you sell gold if you were threatened with eviction?
As a buyer you want to buy low. If you have funds buy slowly bit by bit and hope the price drops more so you can buy more. Gold can never be worthless as it has a fairly high production price. If it goes to low, mines shut down and supply is constrained.
I hold some gold. It goes up and down. When it takes a good beating I buy, when the world roars its attributes I wait. Its increased in value. Yes I could probably have flicked the money around and made more in stocks, property etc but they inevitably crash sooner or later.
I'm not trying to make money out of Gold but think of it as insurance. I get to sleep at night knowing I will always feed and educate my kids. As an asset it has far more credibility than a AAA rated investment which as we have seen recently is not worth the paper it is printed on.
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The problem with buying random gold, for example souk jewelry, is that the trace metals are not documented and so, if you move the gold to a country that does require trace metals to be documented, that gold will be confiscated when you try to assay it to prevent contamination of the national stockpile.
Some people might think you've left it a bit late to spot that gold prices are rising.
There are several equity traded funds, like SPDR GLD, where you can buy into gold without physically holding it. I think it's currently trading around $70.. ETFs like SPDRs are easy to buy and sell like stocks, so it makes better sense for the casual investor.
Many banks that offer multimoney accounts include gold. My bank charges a warehousing fee. I technically have the right to go get the gold as bullion should I wish.
Get the metal if you can - and hold it yourself! Your bank will lock its doors when the 5hit hits the fan.
There is total unreality about the Gold price at present. You cannot - for the love of money - find gold metal to buy. On eBay its being offerred at twice the current market price, with a 1 month delivery date. Thats buying a promise......
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a large, well respected ETF would be to easily invest as way of diversifying a portfolio... and is considered a very very safe investment
but yes, if you want to guard against a potential economic apocolypse, or just want the feel of the metal between your fingers... buy 1oz coins from a local gold dealer and hide them around your house like easter eggs
but yes, if you want to guard against a potential economic apocolypse, or just want the feel of the metal between your fingers... buy 1oz coins from a local gold dealer and hide them around your house like easter eggs
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If you want to physically hold it yourself:
Physical Bullion Bars can be bought in the gold souks of Saudi Arabia. 99.99% pure from Swiss Producers.
10gr-1oz-3oz-100gr-10oz bars still in the sealed plastic wrappers.
They charge 1% for the sale and will check the world gold price via phone the moment before the sale.
They will buy from you without an assay if the bar is still in the sealed wrapper.
Physical Bullion Bars can be bought in the gold souks of Saudi Arabia. 99.99% pure from Swiss Producers.
10gr-1oz-3oz-100gr-10oz bars still in the sealed plastic wrappers.
They charge 1% for the sale and will check the world gold price via phone the moment before the sale.
They will buy from you without an assay if the bar is still in the sealed wrapper.
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We use Gold Money as well, if you want to see it, just bid a Zurich layover or a london layover and go see it in the vault.
The folks at Kitco.com have a similar thing in Canada I believe, although I am not up on their offerings.
Have had no issues with Gold Money, when we needed money last year, a portion was sold and the funds were in our account within 4 business days of the sale completion.
We use ours as a savings account and nothing else, could care less what the value is next month we just buy at whatever the price is. Currently on the + side of things with a slim profit of 300Dhs.
Just me tupence worth
Dooner
The folks at Kitco.com have a similar thing in Canada I believe, although I am not up on their offerings.
Have had no issues with Gold Money, when we needed money last year, a portion was sold and the funds were in our account within 4 business days of the sale completion.
We use ours as a savings account and nothing else, could care less what the value is next month we just buy at whatever the price is. Currently on the + side of things with a slim profit of 300Dhs.
Just me tupence worth
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Belt and Braces. A bit of both...
Goldmoney.com is good and gives you instant cash in the bank when you need to liquidise some. Flexibity is needed as selling bars can be difficult if no-one has any ready cash.
Gold bars - Pamp, Credit Swiss etc. held physically at home (careful) or elsewhere to ensure you have the stuff in hand. Be careful of safety deposit boxes. Collapsing banks will often seize these assets. Governments can outlaw the hoarding of gold. It happened in the last Depression when it became the only non-depreciating asset. Governments can seize gold in a safety deposit box and might give you their version of "fair price". It wont be yours tho.
Fact is if you had dribbled 5% or so of your savings into gold for the last decade you would be able to live out this storm very comfortably and pick up some choice assets being dumped on the cheap.
People are discovering gold now. The price is still 20% below yearly highs. By the time the media have got over worrying about which way the markets are going and start talking about gold it will have risen considerably.
Gold prices have dropped simply because people are liquidising gold to pay out other debt. However the sales in gold bullion are at record highs as millions are seeking safe havens.
Goldmoney.com is good and gives you instant cash in the bank when you need to liquidise some. Flexibity is needed as selling bars can be difficult if no-one has any ready cash.
Gold bars - Pamp, Credit Swiss etc. held physically at home (careful) or elsewhere to ensure you have the stuff in hand. Be careful of safety deposit boxes. Collapsing banks will often seize these assets. Governments can outlaw the hoarding of gold. It happened in the last Depression when it became the only non-depreciating asset. Governments can seize gold in a safety deposit box and might give you their version of "fair price". It wont be yours tho.
Fact is if you had dribbled 5% or so of your savings into gold for the last decade you would be able to live out this storm very comfortably and pick up some choice assets being dumped on the cheap.
People are discovering gold now. The price is still 20% below yearly highs. By the time the media have got over worrying about which way the markets are going and start talking about gold it will have risen considerably.
Gold prices have dropped simply because people are liquidising gold to pay out other debt. However the sales in gold bullion are at record highs as millions are seeking safe havens.
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Great Responses
Sometimes I'm disappointed when I read pprune, other times, like in this thread, I'm really impressed.
Starbuck asked his fellow aviators for some simple advise and got a bunch of great and well thought out responses. I learned a lot myself just from reading this thread.
Thanks to all of you guys who took the time to share your knowledge.
Starbuck asked his fellow aviators for some simple advise and got a bunch of great and well thought out responses. I learned a lot myself just from reading this thread.
Thanks to all of you guys who took the time to share your knowledge.
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In my post about buying gold at the souks in KSA,
I should have added that you need to do it through the money changers. Do not go to the jewelry stores, they will rip you off.
I should have added that you need to do it through the money changers. Do not go to the jewelry stores, they will rip you off.
