Investment Advice

[footram]

First time posting. I have recently come into some funds which I have put away into a couple of different ventures (if you call an engagement ring and a new watch ventures lol), however I have set aside a relatively (to me) considerable sum to invest in physical gold due to my lasting love of sovereigns and gold coins. 

I am based in the UK and my first main thoughts are Soverigns as they are attractive to me, incur no VAT and no CGT. The question is do I take the initial outlay of purchasing a tube of 25 or is it best to buy a few at a time over the course of a couple of years and invest in bulk should the price drop? My worry is with brexit looming if I do not take the plunge when the price is historically (over the last 10-ish years) rather low I might actually miss the mark on the looming instability of our economy. 

The real beauty of buying for me is that gold coins are something I value as things of beauty as well as investments, so even if I do lose out I still have these things of enjoyment, I just thought that I would seek any and all advice that people here had to give. 

I have considered gold tracking bonds or even remote vault storage, however as the old saying goes if you don't have it, it ain't yours. 

 

Ta!

[KevinFlynn]

Welcome 😊

And it is a very nice watch ☺️

On your question: as you said, if you do not invest the whole sum now where would you put the rest? If you believe in danger to your fiat currency, it would be prudent to invest everything now.

But then we do not know anything about your overall investment portfolio. I believe in having 10 to 20% of a portfolio in precious metals. I also believe in not putting too many eggs in one basket.

For the form of precious metals: I'm thinking you cannot go wrong with gold and you can definitely not go wrong with Sovereigns.

 

 

[HawkHybrid]

21 minutes ago, footram said:

is it best to buy a few at a time over the course of a couple of years and invest in bulk should the price drop?

 

I would do this. investments are about time as well as money.

experience should improve your investment outcome in ways

that money alone cannot substitute for. best guess is gold

might rise leading up to brexit and then drop off a little over the

seasonal lower price summer months.

take it one step at a time. maybe buy one or two sovereigns to

start with. try and get a feel for it before deciding if you'd be

comfortable with additional investments.

only invest up to how much your understanding in gold allows

you to. belangp-youtube

 

HH

[footram]

Hi Kevin!

Thanks for your reply and your compliment, it is greatly appreciated. 

My actual estimated outlay for gold would be around 30% of my portfolio, the rest is set to be put through into other bits and bobs, however with all the shenanigans, while I do feel that fiat will be strong and fine, people will do what people do and look to gold, so I would like to hold at least a decent amount.

My other thought was to take roughly £150 a month and invest that into gold (again probably sovereigns) as a hobby and as insurance. 

As you can maybe tell I am brand new to buying precious metals with large amounts of money, having dabbled in silver many years before. 

I guess I will probably wait to see what way the tide turns and see where this new venture will take me 😁 Very exciting

[mr-dead]

sovereigns, britannias, queens beast series are all uk legal tender so VAT + CGT free.

The queens beasts 1oz are a nice size and appealing to look at over just a load of sovereigns and they may appreciate above and beyond the spot price of gold (early releases already have)

If you are aiming to hold mid to long term I would just go all in and not worry about it, Brexit may throw a spanner in the works and cause some short to mid term currency strength swings.

I just do my pre reading then go for it

 

[Pete]

Welcome to the forum.

To be absolutely honest NOBODY can give you advice on buying gold and I strongly recommend you avoid reading "experts" published articles about gold as an investment etc etc.
Take a close look at the charts over the past 20 years and see how the price has fluctuated month to month and in periods of high volatility even day to day.
Trying to time the market is impossible.
Some stackers may have bought some sovereigns and now see their value having risen but there will be others who see the opposite.
My buy price for bullion sovereigns has ranged from £175 each to £240 each over the past 9 years and if I sold them all today I would probably break even or make a small profit.
On the other hand my UK tax free ISA stock funds have risen between 5 and 10% per annum compounded so 50% - 90% in the same period.

If gold was guaranteed to rise by say 15% in the next couple of years then it's worth buying but if it lost 15% it could take years to recover.

If you are seriously committed to buying gold sovereigns or other gold then look for dealers who will charge you less than 3% over spot and don't pay any higher.
There are regularly good deals on this forum but not often in significant quantity and you have to be quick as great deals get snapped up in minutes.

PS - I just read your comment about investing £150 per month ( i.e. a half sovereign ) so most of what I have said above is somewhat irrelevant as it would apply more to an immediate purchase of about 10 grand or more.

[footram]

1 minute ago, HawkHybrid said:

 

 

take it one step at a time. maybe buy one or two sovereigns to

start with. try and get a feel for it before deciding if you'd be

comfortable with additional investments.

only invest up to how much your knowledge in gold allows you

to. belangp-youtube

 

HH

I think these are wise words, jumping head first with 25 would put me in deeper waters that I would be comfortable navigating. 

[footram]

1 minute ago, Pete said:

 

If you are seriously committed to buying gold sovereigns or other gold then look for dealers who will charge you less than 3% over spot and don't pay any higher.
There are regularly good deals on this forum but not often in significant quantity and you have to be quick as great deals get snapped up in minutes.

 

Do you think then that concentrating on the hobby side of it is a better idea? I know I would never make large amounts of money but I always have this incline that money is better in my hands than in the hands of others. Maybe I am just paranoid though. 

[KevinFlynn]

You would get crazy trying to hit a low spot on gold.

But cost averaging, like buying one coin every month over a year, can help mitigate that problem.

[Pete]

5 minutes ago, footram said:

Do you think then that concentrating on the hobby side of it is a better idea? I know I would never make large amounts of money but I always have this incline that money is better in my hands than in the hands of others. Maybe I am just paranoid though. 

Gold ( including silver & platinum ) is a commodity, no different than coffee beans and is known as "high risk" in the investment world.
Only when you have a stable portfolio, ISAs and pension funds should you enter this market and if you do, try to keep you metals at no more than 20% of your other investments.
As a hobby, buy a few sovereigns or other gold coins when you have the spare cash.
When you get hold of your first sovereign for say £240, or tenth ounce Britannia for £100 and see how small the coin(s) is / are it you might start to wonder ....
You might prefer to start with silver - but know where to buy to avoid the 20% VAT so read the 100's of comments on this forum.
For the price of a full sovereign you can get hold of about 15 full ounce silver coins like Maples, Britannias, Eagles, Elephants etc.
You get a lot more weight and larger coins in silver and as silver appears artificially low in price right now there is more potential upside.
As a hobby, try both but ALWAYS do your homework before buying.

[sixgun]

My feeling is if you intend to hold over the longer term the gold Queens Beast coins will be your best investment. Sovereigns can pay off well, you can make a good profit if you spot the right coin but these require a decent amount of knowledge and experience. For someone starting out who is looking for the chance of a return a bit more than basic gold, i'd get some QB's. They are very popular and an extremely well designed Royal Mint series.

[footram]

1 hour ago, Pete said:

Gold ( including silver & platinum ) is a commodity, no different than coffee beans and is known as "high risk" in the investment world.
Only when you have a stable portfolio, ISAs and pension funds should you enter this market and if you do, try to keep you metals at no more than 20% of your other investments.
As a hobby, buy a few sovereigns or other gold coins when you have the spare cash.
When you get hold of your first sovereign for say £240, or tenth ounce Britannia for £100 and see how small the coin(s) is / are it you might start to wonder ....
You might prefer to start with silver - but know where to buy to avoid the 20% VAT so read the 100's of comments on this forum.
For the price of a full sovereign you can get hold of about 15 full ounce silver coins like Maples, Britannias, Eagles, Elephants etc.
You get a lot more weight and larger coins in silver and as silver appears artificially low in price right now there is more potential upside.
As a hobby, try both but ALWAYS do your homework before buying.

This is obviously totally true.

I am familiar with sovereigns, size and all, and I find them to be bar none the most attractive coins.The only aspect of collecting silver to me is large 1kg bars, since it is just weighty and nice to have. Ounce coins are not very interesting to me and VAT just makes me feel like I am paying way way over spot. Sovereigns are very much a personal choice, the fact that they take up so little room is just another plus for me. 

From the advice I have seen today I think I will start picking them up once a month or so. I have outgoings into my help to buy ISA, which gives me 3% on top of 25% extra from govt, and even after sinking x% on gold as was my initial plan I would still have more than healthy savings for somebody my age. 

[footram]

Thanks for posting

I think, really, that I am looking to balance the investment with something that I have always had a passion for, and the only gold coins that have ever spoken to me have been the sovereigns if that at all makes sense. Buying QBs might be a better return on your money, but I would never really love them or cherish them, it would be like sitting looking at a stock ticker. 

I think I will probably be a terrible investor but as long as I love it while I am doing it, I can lose some money and still be happy as larry. 

[Tonyb959]

If you're putting money into a help to buy isa, can we assume you're actively saving a deposit for a house? If that's the case, would it be prudent to put as much money into the house as possible? Lower interest rates on mortgages with a higher deposit, paying less interest over the term of the mortgage etc all sound like better investments than gold, imo. In the long term, it should work out to be a better return on your money. 

 

[footram]

24 minutes ago, Tonyb959 said:

If you're putting money into a help to buy isa, can we assume you're actively saving a deposit for a house? If that's the case, would it be prudent to put as much money into the house as possible? Lower interest rates on mortgages with a higher deposit, paying less interest over the term of the mortgage etc all sound like better investments than gold, imo. In the long term, it should work out to be a better return on your money. 

 

Tony,

 

My issue is that I am a compulsive collector and deep down lover of shiny things. I am apportioning a certain amount of my money to invest in gold and possibly silver, with a good chunk of it being put away to bump up my deposit. I also have a partner who will be joining me in the mortgage as an equal partner. With house prices being not so high in my neck of the woods and with my job in property and law I am not very worried with regards to interest rates or obtaining a mortgage. 

I want the shiny shiny. 

I do very much appreciate your advice though.

[KevinFlynn]

Speaking of shiny, did you peruse the forum photo gallery threads and the Today I revceived thread?

[footram]

20 hours ago, KevinFlynn said:

Speaking of shiny, did you peruse the forum photo gallery threads and the Today I revceived thread?

I did not sir, point me in yonder direction if you would

[KevinFlynn]

Today I received - hours of fun...

Photo only topics - post your pics...

[footram]

Like Alice I go tumbling into the rabbit hole.

I also meant to ask what your take is as of current with platinum? Weirdly I always think of it as a posh silver, its a bit too shiny, but my god is it cheap. I guess the death of diesel has its perks. 

[HawkHybrid]

4 minutes ago, footram said:

Like Alice I go tumbling into the rabbit hole.

I also meant to ask what your take is as of current with platinum? Weirdly I always think of it as a posh silver, its a bit too shiny, but my god is it cheap. I guess the death of diesel has its perks. 

 

On 27/01/2019 at 15:37, HawkHybrid said:

only invest up to how much your understanding in gold allows

you to. belangp-youtube

same deal with platinum as with gold(just replace the word

gold with the word platinum  )

work out how you plan to invest, exit, likely profit/loss, risk to

reward ratio etc. cheap can get cheaper and may take a lifetime

to get there, thus is no guarantee of making a return.

do the research + maths and see how it fits with your personal

tolerances for risk versus reward.

 

HH

[footram]

1 minute ago, HawkHybrid said:

 

same deal with platinum as with gold(just replace the word

gold with the word platinum  )

work out how you plan to invest, exit, likely profit/loss, risk to

reward ratio etc. cheap can get cheaper and may take a lifetime

to get there, thus is no guarantee of making a return.

do the research + maths and see how it fits with your personal

tolerances for risk versus reward.

 

HH

Thanks!

 

So many questions, so little time, but boy am I glad this community is very kind and considerate. 

[KevinFlynn]

In my opinion the main stack should be gold.

Silver and platinum can be added as an afterthought.

You will find a couple of threads on platinum in General precious metals (say, here).

Personally, I saw platinum in uninteresting heights ten years ago and thus feel that it is quite cheap now and a chance to gamble on.

But I won't sink a fortune into it.

[footram]

6 minutes ago, KevinFlynn said:

In my opinion the main stack should be gold.

Silver and platinum can be added as an afterthought.

You will find a couple of threads on platinum in General precious metals (say, here).

Personally, I saw platinum in uninteresting heights ten years ago and thus feel that it is quite cheap now and a chance to gamble on.

But I won't sink a fortune into it.

Interesting.

 

I have just purchased a kg of AG from ash, because I just couldn't not. I will start slowly dropping money into gold month by month. You guys have been invaluable in your advice. And this forum is now seriously addictive to me. This is all very dangerous and my bank account is looking at me nervously. 

[KevinFlynn]

Give your credit card to your fiancee 😉

 

In an afterthought, maybe not 😀

[footram]

1 minute ago, KevinFlynn said:

Give your credit card to your fiancee 😉

 

In an afterthought, maybe not 😀

Lol she already has it. 

 

Not my debit card though HA!