How much should I invest in gold?

[silverbullionMember]

Research from the World Gold Council shows that an optimal investment portfolio, which maximises returns and minimises risks, should contain between 5% and 30% of gold for different investors’ risk profiles.Despite the above, it is recommended that an investor always have at least 10% of his/her investment portfolio invested in gold. We like to refer to this as the “10% Rule.” We believe that one can’t expect to effectively protect one’s investment portfolio against hyper inflation, a weak dollar, etc. if one has less than 10% of one’s portfolio invested in gold, directly or indirectly…http://goldinvestment.co.za/how-much-to-invest-in-gold.html 

[4 ozMember]

I would like gold to come way down is all I can say. If it did would need to re-evaluate my plans going forth. If you have some time, I found this
insightful: http://www.stansberryresearch.com/pro/1202CHINAPT2/LOILN402/PR

[SilverStandardMember]

Gold is not an investment it is cold hard cash savings.  You should not seek “returns” on gold you hold in your possession since nothing can be returned to you which you have not given away.  Of course investment in gold mining companies is different, in that situation you are giving up your cash savings for equity in return for dividends and the potential for capital appreciation.  As for percentages one should allocate to various savings and investment vehicles I think it is heavily dependent on personal circumstances.  As for me I only don’t even have $400 worth of savings (in real terms if you know what I mean…) so my percentages look different than most I am about 98% silver, 1.5% nickels and copper pennies, 0.5% paper notes and bank deposits, 0% gold,  0% equities, 0% bonds.  I just don’t see why I should get any gold or make any investments at this point I feel like accumulating more silver is the way to go.  I might otherwise consider gold at this point since I do have what I would consider a good amount of silver but gold seems too expensive relative to silver right now so I think I will stick with the poor man’s gold at least for now.      

[silverbullionMember]

SilverStandard It depends on one’s definition of profit, but yes, you’re right to at least some extent. Words of accommodation such as “gold investment” are simply used to attract those who are not in the know, because it make more sense for them to see it as part of their investment portfolios than anything else. I fully agree with you in regards to silver. 90% of my holdings are in silver, physical silver.I’ve posted the above in the forum’s gold section so that those who wish to invest or own gold, will have some form of guideline pertaining to the percentages. It is not an exercise that’s designed to provide reasons why people should or should not invest in or own gold.

[DannoMember]

Those percentages are based on a “standard” paper portfolio though… At least that would be what most investment managers would give you as a guideline… This wouldn’t really pertain to a lot of the Silver Doctors readers though due to the fact that we are almost all in with Phyz silver… Some of us also own gold… Each persons circumstances are different so there really is no right or wrong answer to this… Some have a 1 to 50 ratio… Some have a 1 to 250 ratio… It comes down to what allows you to sleep well at night as to what is right for you… By being all in with Phyzz portfolio we already have thrown the balance off so it kinda deems a standard templet useless in my opinion…

[silverbullionMember]

True Danno. It only serves the purpose to attract people that are new to gold investment and/or ownership. Most of them will google “”How much should I invest in gold?” and hopefully they will end up here. I use the language of accommodation and the “standard” paper portfolio percentages just to get them started. Some might freak out if I advocate higher percentages. It is better to let them start with a little, than nothing at all. I believe when you hold a piece of physical gold, it will automatically encourage you to get and/or buy more. You might be interested in my answer pertaining to silver here: http://www.silverbullion.co.za/how-much-should-i-invest-in-silver.html

[AGXIIKMember]

Here is an idea that might work.  If you like silver and have some gold, trade the gold for silver since the ratio is so much in your favor. Stack that nasty white metal to the ceiling.
 If silver ramps sky high, then trade some silver back for  gold. If the ratio skews back to 50 to 1 GTSR then acquire more silver by trading out of gold.     If the trading costs are not to high, and those will be  mitigated partly by these potential price increases, you can balance your portfolio ratios of these two precious metals. 
Be aware that in the eyes of the IRS, these two metals are not treated the same so there are capital gains (or losses) to be calculated.  If you have a gain be sure to send your hard earned real money to our friendly tax N**** in Washington.  We would not want to deprive the beast of funds to imprison us.  Damn, I’m really steamed this AM.  Everything pisses me off.

[Ed_BMember]

”
Damn, I’m really steamed this AM.  Everything pisses me off.”Excellent!  If that is not THE sign of a fully awake and intelligent human being, I do not know what is!As to the gold question… lots of variation is possible with this.  I have over a kilo-oz. of silver stacked and am now ready to buy some gold.  I do not know how much I will buy at this point but hope to get at least 30 oz. over the next year.  My question about all this is more along the lines of is there a preferred size or form of gold that would be best for a general SHTF scenario?  For coins, I’m thinking about 2/3 in 1/2 oz. AGEs and 1/3 in 1/4 oz. AGEs or GMLs. I like the smaller gold weight sizes in spite of the higher premiums charged for them.  I want to stick with either US or Canadian gold coins or perhaps bars.  If bars, they would likely be 20 gram Perth Mint bars or perhaps the bigger 100 gram poured PAMP bars.  I would appreciate any comments on what others think of this as well as anything that seems relevant but not yet mentioned.

[silverbullionMember]

ED_B I would avoid bars and only stick to coins to avoid assaying problems for one. It is better to lose a coin than to lose a bar. Survical coins for one will be much better than getting bars: http://www.silverbullion.co.za/characteristics-of-survival-coins.html I would buy less gold and more silver… 10 oz of gold max.

[Ed_BMember]

Thanks for the URL, Silverbullion.  Good info there.Heh, I already have more silver than gold… MUCH more, in fact.  I’m looking at gold as a store of value and for buying large items, such as land, a home, a farm, etc.  I like the portability of gold as well.  If I need to bail out quickly, it will be MUCH easier to do it if I am not lugging 65+ lbs of silver with me.Coins are good.  I prefer AGEs and GMLs.The best argument for silver at the moment is the G/S ratio of around 50:1 in price terms.  If this drops to say 25:1 the silver holder will be able to swap his silver for 2x as much gold as he could at 50:1.  The gold holder will probably see this as a loss of buying power, since he can now only buy 1/2 as much silver with his gold.“It is better to lose a coin than to lose a bar.”Not sure I understand this comment.  Are you saying that this is true when the bars are bigger than the coins?  Lots of 1-oz. and fractional oz. bars out there.  The Perth Mint bars come with their own assay card and tamper resistant packaging, which is nice.Another factor here would be that there are many SHTF scenarios possible, varying from mild to wild.  In the very worst of cases, we will all be trading in lead and brass rather than gold or silver.  Other scenarios will not be nearly that bad, so bartering with silver and gold should be possible.

[silverbullionMember]

You’re welcome. With “It is better to lose a coin than to lose a bar”, I mean I will rather buy and lose a fake silver coin, than buy and lose a fake silver bar. I am not in reference to ingots, which are extremely small bars. You might find the following interview of interest, assuming that you haven’t heard it yet: http://www.roadtoroota.com/public/579.cfmI believe lead for one is going to be valuable in all scenarios, especially in the form of bullets, not even to mention guns.Keep stacking.

[jseanMember]

Gold is not an financial commitment it is freezing money benefits.  You should not search for “returns on gold you carry in your ownership since nothing can be came back to you which you have not given away.  Of course financial commitment in gold exploration organizations is different, in that scenario you are providing up your money benefits for value in come back for returns and the prospective for investment admiration.  As for proportions one should spend to various benefits and financial commitment automobiles I think it is intensely reliant on individual conditions.

[4 ozMember]

Thinking there is a lot to be said for both.

At the moment my s/g ratio is something like 70 to 1.

Can’t say if that is a good ratio or what. Been hearing rumors that some people are in fact trading gold for silver these days—thinking the ratio is going to narrow.

[silverbullionMember]

lol My s/g ratio is about 200 to 1.

[snowriderMember]

At this point in time – NONE!!

[snowriderMember]

Especially when we now have tungsten filled gold bars. Small gold coins maybe, but definitely no gold bars. Too risky!

[BytheShoreMember]

Whenever I read about holding 10% in gold, I’m amazed at such conservativism even among ‘gold bugs’ or Austrian school-influenced investors. I don’t see how anything below 50% at this point is appropriate, with stocks and bonds not looking good in general.

[UglyDogMember]

In my mind how much you invest in gold depends on how much in assets you have that you want to protect.  For the new stacker stick with silver eagles until you run out of room.  Then switch over to gold eagles.   The reason you want to stick with eagles is that you can sell both and not trigger any gov’t reporting requirement.  Also,  eagles are U.S.  money meaning there are several bills before state legislatures to reclassify eagles as circulating money instead of being classified as bullion.  What that mean is that when the financial system falls apart and gold/silver rocket up in price these laws will likely be passed and holders of eagles will not have a capital gains tax liability.  Holders of bullion will remain subject to capital gains taxes.  This will be huge.  So, buy correctly now.

[Denise003Member]

I agree the risk of investing in gold is really quite low but i heard that gold price is crashed and it seem it is a bad time to invest in gold.In Finland many people attracted in gold and i seen some people use to ostetaan kultaa or buy gold because the price of gold now is really low and the fact that in due time they will earn double of the price in buying a gold.

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