In March of this year the US economy hit a serious milestone by reaching a 10 year mark on the current bull market, officially making it the longest running bull market the country has ever celebrated. While the economic crisis prior to this run seems to be in distant memory, is it time to start taking precautions assuming it could return?
One Entrepreneur who has started putting his money in gold already is Author and Entrepreneur Tim Schmidt. He’s a firm believer that while the bull run is something to enjoy, there should always be attention to the counterpart should the market turn south. For this reason, he’s been quietly building a following on his retirement website, documenting his experiences with putting precious metals into an IRA plan.
In specific, he’s put a lot of focus on analyzing companies serving as gold custodians, and pointing out their pros and con’s. Putting precious metals into a retirement plan isn’t rocket science, but it’s important to choose a reputable gold company to work with, according to his website.
Precious metals like gold, silver, and even palladium have long been a hedge against possible inflation and stock market volatility. There is no shortage of people who back gold investing and believe that gold is a currency that everyone should have. People like Ron Paul, John Paulson, and George Soros are all key gold investors.
Gold is currently trading at over $1,500 per ounce, and is showing no signs of getting weaker. Gold not only rocketed up with the economic bull market in the early 2000’s, starting at $380 per ounce in 2002, and eventually hitting $2,000 an ounce just ten years later in 2012, but even when the economy recovered and became the current bull market we are continuing to experience now, the price has barely dipped, as you can see from the numbers provided.
While nobody can tell when the bull market will come to an end, there are many people who are loading up on gold and other precious metals, just in case. Investopedia names gold as an “inflation hedge.” A hedge against inflation is something people look into to protect the worsening purchasing power of a currency that will lose value due to inflation. Assets that are bought as a hedge are thought to decrease in value slower than the value of the actual currency.
Gold is perhaps the most popular inflation hedge, with silver and other precious metals following closely behind. Many times, when the value of the Dollar declines, the price of gold skyrockets. This balances any portfolio should inflation become an issue. It’s almost like taking a contrarian investing approach, but many people like to think of it as simply counterbalancing investments.
With an election looming in the year 2020, there are many outcomes that could indeed drive the thriving US market down a spiral into economic decline. Consider adding gold and other precious metals to your IRA account and other long term investment strategies.