Do you guys prefer to have physical holdings of silver, gold, platnium, etc or electronic funds? I personally prefer the physical holdings since I can hold them in my hand and drool abit. Funds just look like numbers on any regular paper to me. I know there's a tad logistic burden of the physical side though. So which do you think is the best?- Ezio
The value of liquid cash [regardless of whether it's in the form of electronic funds or not] will decrease as inflation rises. For that reason it's always much better to invest in something whose value won't plummet . . . that much. So I'd say gold or any other precious metal would be far much better than cash.
I trust in the value of physical holdings much more but I do often worry about their security. I have much more money in electronic funds than anything else though, I guess because it's easier for me.
I agree with the idea of holding physical products. The thing is these do not lose value so dramatically as other holdings. Cash tends to mean less to many people and its value depend largely on governments fiscal policies. Physical holdings are market driven and many such as gold and silver are always in demand and as such their prices tend upwards most of the time.
In general I would prefer physical holding, however, with how the market is right now all of my money is currently in electronic holdings however later 2015 if the market acts like it has I will begin to work on transferring my funds into physical holdings.
I have done both over the years. At the present, its physical holdings of gold and silver. At some point, if it fits my goals, I can see investing in gold and/or silver ETFs again.
I would definitely say you should hold your metals close to the vest. Not having all of your savings in financial assets is always a good idea. Keep your gold and silver in a safe deposit box and your copper in the attic. I throw copper in the mix, because I read a book recently that made a strong case for hoarding copper over the next several years. You should check it out "Good as Gold: How to profit from the Coming Boom in Copper".
In general electronic funds are way more volatile than physical holdings, but it's all a matter of timing. Some electronic funds can get us rich if we manage to sell them in the proper time.
I would never actually keep gold physically. Just the security would eat into potential profits. I understand some people like to have things with them because it feels good to actually hold something in your hand. But anything you can hold in your hand can be taken by someone else´s hands..