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I made my first securities
trade when I was nineteen years old, about 12 years ago. My father came
across about $100,000 in inheritance, and wanted to play the market in order
to avoid a future of more back-breaking, knee-shattering construction
work. But, he didn�t want to learn the ins and outs of the stock
market. �Matt, my boy,� he said to me one day, �you�re nineteen now,
and going to college, so if you still want a roof over your head, figure out
how to make me money in the stock market, or you�re out on the street.�
Ah, memories of childhood. So, following a visceral instinct to not be
homeless, I heeded his instructions.
We didn�t do great at first
(he dismissed first time small losses by exclaiming that �it costs money to
go to school"), but after some time, study and experience, our capital
gains started to grow, and my father was able to realize part of his dream,
only working about one quarter per year, and letting his accumulated wealth
pay for most of his expenses. And that�s how an art student found his
way into the world of finance.
I�m thirty one years old now,
and have gained a wide range of experience in securities and retail finance
industry from Franklin Templeton, Wells Fargo, Tri Counties Bank, and
Citizens Bank of Northern California, before eventually landing in the
precious metals market. The first thing that I learned from my
diverse experience is that companies with the same goals can radically differ
in their methodology to obtain those goals. More importantly, I became
increasingly confident that ALL investors should hold a significant portion
of their wealth in precious metals.
However, a problem arises with
my theory, because when most people think of the precious metals, their
immediate reaction is to consider gold. Now, when I
was nineteen years old, buying gold presented a very big problem for me
-- I couldn�t afford it. Now, granted, this was when gold was about 25%
the value of what it is today. But even at $250 an ounce, my investment
portfolio was only about $3,000 (hey, I was nineteen�what�d you
expect?). Had I invested my entire portfolio in gold, I could have
bought 12 ounces. Today, those 12 ounces that cost $3,000 would be
worth about $11,000. Not a bad investment, but I�d be putting all of my
eggs into one basket, and no wise investor would tell you that was a good
idea -- if they do, just smile and politely say that you�ll consider their
advice.
(Jason notes: I was literally begging, hounding, and harassing my dad to put
it all into gold and silver in 1999, but he waited until about 2003 to really
jump in. Had he followd my advice, he would have done much, much, much
better, as Matt Notes.)
Truth be told, the average
nineteen year old, full-time employed, full time student--does not have
$3,000 in risk-tolerant cash to invest. What about my brother, who, at
the time, had about $500 that he wanted to invest? How does he
diversify his portfolio? Should he not be allowed to invest?
Absolutely not. For the common man, the answer to precious metals
investing is silver.
�But Matt, you fool,� my
readers may exclaim, �had I invested $500 in gold, I would have had a 357%
return on investment over 10 years, versus a measly 249% return on investment
in silver. True, that in that particular time frame, gold has
outperformed silver. My answer, had you invested in � gold and � silver
(one ounce of gold, and 50 ounces of silver), your 10 year return would have
been 303%. That�s a: pretty decent return for a safely diversified
precious metals portfolio. But, there is one important factor that few
people consider with silver investing--it is more fungible and
divisible than the other precious metals.
Why is that important?
Consider this. If my brother, the $500 investor, had to liquidate a
portion of his investment, he would be forced into a 50% minimum value
liquidation in gold versus a 1% minimum liquidation in silver. If, ten
years later, he was staring at his now $1,516.50 investment, and had a tax
bill of $500.00, he couldn�t liquidate 1 Troy Oz of gold at $892.00 and buy
back $492 worth of gold (unless he was buying fractional gold, which carries
a higher premium). However, he could liquidate 40 ounces of silver, pay
the bill, and still have the full value of his remaining 10 ounces. In
addition, it is much easier for him to buy back his investment at 1 Troy Oz
at a time (although he will have to pay a higher premium with sales tax restrictions
on bullion purchases under $1,500 in the state of CA)--much more efficient,
and requires less discipline than saving money to buy 40 ounces at once.
So, to summarize. Do I
like gold? Of course, I do. I just like silver, much, much
more. Why do I like it so much? Because literally ANYONE can buy
it. Right now, even a kid with a weekly allowance can invest in
silver. Start early. Buy it. Horde it away. Protect
it, because in the future, it will protect you.
by Matt Vickers
Silver Stock Report produced by:
Jason Hommel
LAS VEGAS MONEY SHOW
REGISTRATION LINK:
http://www.moneyshow.com/lvms/main.asp?scode=013903
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http://silverstockreport.com/ssrarchive.htm
www.bibleprophesy.org
Buy it now from our shipping department, 10 AM - 4 PM, M - F, Pacific:
(100 oz. silver minimum, 100 oz. increments, USA shipping, wire transfer
only!)
"Buy it now" at www.momsilvershop.com
(Mom will ship in lots of more or less than 100 ounces, and ship
overseas, and take credit cards or paypal.)
See us also at:
Rocklin Coin Shop
4870 Granite Drive, Rocklin, CA 95677
http://rocklincoinshop.com/
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