3 Main Benefits of Investing in Precious Metals

When most people start planning their retirement, they routinely think in terms of retirement accounts, real estate, and stock market investments. These are all excellent options, but they have limits.

You can only put so much into retirement accounts. The stock market is notoriously unpredictable. Real estate can prove tricky to sell if you decide to get rid of it.

That means you may find yourself looking for other investment options. One popular choice is investing in precious metals.

Not familiar with the benefits of investing in precious metals? Keep reading for three of the main benefits you get when you invest in precious metals.

1. Easy to Start

One of the biggest benefits of getting into precious metals as an investment is that it’s easy to start. Real estate takes a lot of upfront capital.

There is a lot of administration involved in retirement accounts. Getting into the stock market means finding a broker you like and trust to handle the buying selling on your behalf.

There is no paperwork or middlemen when it comes to precious metals. Plus, it’s often cheaper. You can evaluate the price of precious metals and choose an amount you can afford.

Plus, you get your choice of coins, bars, and rounds.

2. Inflation Hedging

Some investments can actually lose money when you factor in the rate of inflation. When it comes to precious metal prices today, they typically keep pace with inflation the same way they have in the past.

Instead of watching your investment lose value, you watch it hold value.

That makes it a particularly attractive investment option when economic uncertainty hits. It also gives you something with stable value that you can sell during economic uncertainty. After all, that’s when other people look for stable things like precious metals to invest in.

3. Very Liquid

Liquidity is your ability to turn an investment back into cash. Something with low liquidity proves hard to convert into cash. Something with high liquidity is very easy to turn into money.

Investments like real estate operate in the low liquidity zone. Even if you can find a buyer, the sales process can take months to complete.

Precious metals operate in the high liquidity zone. Whether times are good or times are bad, you can find buyers for things like gold, silver, and platinum. Just as importantly, the sales process can happen very quickly since there is little or no paperwork involved.

Investing in Precious Metals and You

Investing in precious metals is one way you can diversify your investment portfolio, but it shouldn’t be your only type of investment. Precious metals don’t typically see the kind of growth that makes stocks and retirement accounts such a valuable tool.

What you get from precious metal investments is something that’s relatively stable, highly liquid, and requires minimal administration oversight. You don’t need a broker to get started. You can buy them online yourself.

Looking for more tips on investing and retirement? Check out the posts over in our Money Tips section.

Jeff Campbell