Is it worth investing in precious metals? Investing in Silver: My Failed Attempt to Create a Financial Safety Net Should I Buy Silver from Sberbank
Gold has always been a symbol of luxury. It was considered a sign of wealth and elitism. Therefore, it is impossible not to love gold. However, in recent years, women and girls are increasingly choosing to wear silver jewelry over gold jewelry. The fair sex, buy sets of silver. Today, girls and women are increasingly trying to wear silver jewelry - it is from this noble metal, and not from gold.
Preference is given to silver jewelry not because it is customary. Mothers and grandmothers strongly recommend that their daughters and granddaughters, after coming of age, wear gold jewelry. They explain this by the fact that in their youth, only gold was considered a precious metal, helping to stand out from the surrounding crowd and feel like a truly fashionable and stylish person.
Fans of gold who prefer to wear all the available gold jewelry at once can make a big impression on the people around them. However, this is not the correct position of a person. Today it is better to pay attention - to your own taste, and not to the quality of the material. It is this position in life that is correct - according to leading stylists. Therefore, when choosing jewelry, you need to be guided by your own preferences, and not by fashion trends. The best option in this regard is silver jewelry. Today, the modern market offers a wide selection of different silver jewelry.
Silver jewelry has been popular for thousands of years. Silver is not only a beautiful noble metal, it is also known for its miraculous properties. Today - silver in comparison with gold, it is undeservedly cheap precious metal. Initially, silver has always been worth more than gold. Often silver in nature occurs in the form of nuggets, devoid of impurities. It is much easier to mine silver today than gold.
In many ancient states, silver was considered a sacred metal. Medieval alchemists used silver in their numerous experiments. Silver - as an inert metal with a weak reactivity, in ancient times was actively used for the manufacture of tableware and laboratory chemical glassware, in the production of silver jewelry and the minting of silver coins.
Why are people today increasingly buying silver jewelry, preferring gold jewelry to them? First of all, silver is a metal that has a rejuvenating effect on the human body. However, the rejuvenating effect of silver is achieved not only by the beneficial effect of this noble metal on the human body, but the very wearing of silver jewelry can make any woman several years younger.
Silver jewelry - compared to gold, they look more airy and light. On the associative-intuitive level, gold jewelry increases not only the status of the owner, but also his age. Therefore, it is better to buy cheap silver jewelry and look younger than to buy gold jewelry and look older than your age.
Silver jewelry looks very attractive, especially if they are adorned with precious stones. Silver jewelry - with embedded gemstones, suitable for wearing by almost all people.
Silver is a jewelry material that has a relatively low cost. This noble metal is very easy to process and easy for jewelers to work with. Master jewelers are very willing to experiment with silver, sometimes creating real works of art. Silver sets, made with extraordinary imagination, can be easily purchased at any jewelry store, which will perfectly complement - in general, any outfit and image, almost every person. Women who wear silver jewelry with precious stones will always have - for men, a seductive look.
The main advantage of the silver set is the price factor, which consists in the fact that instead of one gold or platinum item, you can purchase a whole set of silver jewelry at an affordable price. Nothing will decorate a modern woman today like a set with a variety of silver jewelry, which could not be achieved with the help of gold.
You can buy silver jewelry - in a set, you can in various variations. With incredible grace and elegance, you can purchase a whole set of silver jewelry with pearls. Such a precious stone - like pearls, has always been a truly royal decoration. In China, several thousand years ago, pearls were presented as a gift, only to members of the imperial family, and in ancient Egypt, the law allowed to wear jewelry with pearls, only to the royal person. Today, silver jewelry - with embedded pearls - can be worn by almost everyone. Nowadays, pearl jewelry is very popular.
A silver set consisting of rings, earrings and pendants - together, they can decorate any woman. Incredible charm and brilliance are given by exclusive silver earrings, decorated with inserts of natural zircons, which look very beautiful. Combining the severity of rubber and the radiance of pearls, the included pendant is able to amaze with its elegance. With such a set of silver jewelry, you can perfectly complement a business suit or evening dress.
Silver jewelry looks unusual, which is skillfully executed with gems embedded in them. The unique author's design and the beauty of the stones will please any owner with their variety of styles and elegance.
Bright and large silver jewelry will look great at an evening reception or a friendly party, while elegant and small ones are appropriate for a strict office dress code.
Today, silver jewelry is becoming popular, not only because it is unique, beautiful and affordable, but because this type of jewelry can be worn by any woman or girl of any size or age, and at the same time there will be no doubt that silver the set will perfectly complement her image. When choosing silver jewelry, you should choose stones that match the color of your eyes, only in this case - an abundance of admiring glances will be provided.
In this material:
Being primarily a precious metal, silver can be used as a money equivalent. This precious metal as well as gold at all times acted as active insurance against the depreciation of banknotes.
As American dollars depreciate in value, an increasing number of investors and ordinary people perceive them as mere units of account that do not carry any benefits (due to the lack of gold and currency strength under them). Also, in the event of a new financial crisis (which happens regularly once every five years), silver becomes an excellent support and system for protecting one's own funds, while offering considerable cash profits.
How profitable is investing in silver?
Today, in the conditions of instability of the world's leading economies and, as a result, the entire financial market, experts identify a number of fundamental reasons that contribute to the reliability of investments in silver. In particular:
- A wide range of applications in medicine as a strong bactericidal agent (worldwide demand);
- Silver is much less mined than gold (high demand and low supply);
- Use as jewelry, as well as in the creation of electrical appliances, cell phones and computers.
In addition to all of the above, silver (unlike gold) is completely wasted. According to the latest expert estimates, over the past few decades, more than eighty percent of all mined silver has been wasted, while a little more than ninety percent of gold has been preserved.
Silver reserves are constantly running out, so in ten years they may well run out completely, which, of course, will have a catastrophic effect on the entire industry around the world and, as a result, a strong impact on the economies of various countries.
Silver is a long-term investment tool with a significant margin of profit.
Silver price now
How and where to buy silver: available options
As in the case of gold, investments in silver can be of several types.
Bank deposit
Investments in silver through a bank (in the form of a deposit) are characterized by an insignificant level of profitability, but at the same time a high rate of safety of invested funds. This method is rightfully considered one of the best tools to protect against inflation. The downside is that the number of physical precious metal is less than the mass declared on the bank account. Also, when closing a deposit, there may well be problems with receiving your savings in the form of silver.
Ingots
Investing in silver through the purchase of bullion is one of the most popular and affordable options, which naturally has significant costs at the time of purchase. It should be noted that today not all banking organizations have the right to conduct operations with silver bars, but only those that have the appropriate license.
Those banks that have received the right to sell silver bars offer their customers the following types:
- Measured. The mass of the ingot is not less than one kilogram;
- Standard. Weight varies from 28 to 32 kilograms.
All bars sold through the bank are 999 fine. The most popular among investors are measured bars due to their practicality.
coins
Another, no less popular way of investing in silver today is collectible silver coins. You can buy coins both in a banking organization that has the appropriate license, and from professional numismatists. The hallmark of investing in silver through coins is the double pricing standard. In some cases, the value of an asset is affected not so much by the quotes of the most precious metal as by its numismatic qualities, for example: year of issue, circulation, physical characteristics, external condition, etc.
Securities of companies engaged in the extraction of precious metal
Buying shares in companies that develop mines and produce silver is an alternative way to invest in the precious metal. Acquisition of shares is possible through a brokerage company on stock markets. A distinctive feature of this investment option is low costs and a high rate of return. True, if the timing of the purchase of securities is incorrectly calculated, as well as the choice of a company on the verge of bankruptcy, large losses are quite likely.
CHI
As well as in the case of gold, opening an unallocated metal account in silver is an excellent alternative to keeping funds safe from the harmful effects of inflation. The only disadvantage of using CHI as an investment tool is the payment of tax at the time the account is closed. On the other hand, using an unallocated metal account, you can check the bank for the presence of physical precious metal.
Jewelry and Antiques
Another way to invest in silver is to buy jewelry and antiques. It is worth noting here that, as in the case of collectible coins, such assets have specific pricing properties. For example, the price of a piece of jewelry, in addition to the cost of the precious metal, includes the price of the work of a jeweler. The same applies to antiques, where silver, like a precious metal, plays a big role, but the year the product was created, its appearance and the presence of a “personal history”.
Index funds
Not so long ago, another opportunity for investing capital became available to the mass investor - silver index funds. According to a number of IMF experts, such an instrument has significant prospects already in the medium term, unlike the US dollar. Access to index funds is provided by brokerage companies.
Use of derivatives as short-term instruments
To date, the financial platforms of the world provide a significant range of tools for making a profit, including with the help of silver. True, when trading through a brokerage company, silver in its physical form is not supplied, and the calculation is carried out in a virtual way. This investment option is perfect for short-term silver profit algorithms.
Unlike buying precious metal in a bank, buying silver in the financial market has a number of undeniable advantages, namely:
- High level of liquidity and the ability to buy / sell silver at any convenient time;
- Low chance of collapse. Silver is characterized by a relatively calm "character" of the movement of quotations;
- Minimum spread level. Unlike banks, in the financial market you can buy silver at the best possible price.
Among the most popular instruments are futures and options (derivatives), as well as shares of companies involved in the development and production of precious metals.
Conclusion
Never be afraid to discover new ways and markets for profit. Investing in silver offers a high level of investment security, as well as significant potential for return over the next ten years.
It is worth remembering that silver is a long-term investment tool. The guarantee of not only a successful, but also a profitable investment is a rigorous approach to the analysis of opportunities, as well as the current market situation. The cost of silver, like any other object of trade, can not only grow, but also decrease.
The best time to buy silver is the beginning of a new crisis or the development of a short-sighted foreign policy of the government.
Coin catalog
All existing coins can be found in our database using a convenient search.
One of the most reliable tools for preserving and increasing capital in 2019 was investing in silver, gold, platinum and other precious metals. The situation with quotes promises to be ambiguous and volatile, but with the instability of the financial world, this is the best solution.
Investors are reluctant to invest in silver, despite the fact that its investment value is not lower than that of gold. The economic vulnerability of the metal, artificially low price and undervaluation in the investment field create contradictions that confuse potential investors even more. American experts say that the "silver age" will come, and the price per gram of silver will be compared with the price of gold. Or the price dynamics will rush to the heights, to the Fibonacci itself, which is associated with the extermination of silver resources on earth.
The growth of silver quotes, promised by analysts in 2019, is in no hurry to come true. The only forecast that the current situation allows us to make is the absence of a forecast. The difficult geopolitical environment, financial instability and economic regression cast doubt on any point of view.
The prospects will not console investors: it will take a long time to wait for profits from silver.
They say that in 10 years the silver deposits will be bled dry by the great states with a high level of industrial development. Then you should expect silver to be appreciated. Obviously, as a short-term asset, silver will not justify hopes. A year, two, five is too short a time to draw conclusions about the return on investment.
Silver is used not only in jewelry, on the contrary: only 30% of the metal is used in this area. Only 5% is spent on the production of investment coins. Surprisingly, only 20% is used for developing photographs. 50% silver is involved in the aesthetic design of the interior (figurines, frames for photos and mirrors, candlesticks, etc.). There is reason to believe this information is inaccurate, since a certain percentage of silver is actively used in the IT industry, medicine, and in a meager amount in related industries. It was the link to the economy that determined the dependence of the precious metal on its condition.
Technical innovations are striking in their diversity. They are in demand, despite the high cost, regardless of the crisis. But silver, which is used in their manufacture, has not risen in price. Low quotes are coming out from under the London fixing. The same - medicine, the flourishing of photography - all this does not slow down the pace of development, and the price dynamics of the "white metal", with all its pitching, goes lower.
Even an optimistic analyst cannot give a comforting forecast for 2018. With a general long-term downward trend, surprises are unlikely.
Investing in silver for the long term
There is a summary of facts that position silver as a promising asset. Industrial demand will rise, and with it the price per gram of gold. Experts identify a number of circumstances that open up another side of investing in silver for the investor.
- With a high percentage of consumption, the world's silver resources are not that great. The total volume of all currently known deposits is 16 times more than gold. But at the same time, silver available in the form of various industrial products is 4 times more than gold. If we take into account only the physical volume of the metal that is available on the world market, then there is 10 times less silver! According to rumors, some mining companies simply refuse white metal due to its lack of demand.
Read also
Business idea: Toilet business
Silver, unlike gold, is affordable. If it is 50-90 times cheaper on average, then the investments of ordinary people who do not own solid capital will gradually become more active. This will drive up the price of an ounce. Therefore, investing in silver is a good idea.
- The downward trend in the physical volume of the metal will continue for decades. It does not return to the market as scrap like gold does. Actually, gold is different in that there is always a lot of it, because. it is melted down, transforming into new products, and is practically not utilized. Silver, after being used in industry, must be disposed of, since its extraction from faulty equipment is unprofitable and problematic. Silver jewelry is unlikely to be scrapped by its owners.
Silver mining is also problematic. There are practically no deposits of pure argentum in the world.
Only 20% of it is extracted from clean mines, without impurities. The remaining 80% is mined as a by-product of zinc and nickel.
Corporations do not need to increase the volume of silver mining, because the income from it is negligible. The dominant part of the profit comes from "core" raw materials, in which the company specializes.
According to economic analysts, the demand for silver will still grow, and its current position in the precious metals market is a short-term clouding of the minds of speculators. Allegedly, they keep prices per ounce within the limits of 21 dollars by their machinations with papers in order to prevent chaos in the unstable market. But based on the above facts, you can profitably invest in silver. Robert Kiyosaki has long said that the investment should be done now, while the price of silver has set foot on the lower threshold. He is a millionaire, so his prediction is likely to come true.
Jumping silver quotes
A powerful jump in price per ounce occurred in February 2009. Silver cost $36, and many considered the rise in price to be irrevocable. But a pullback to $27 dispelled the general mood. The colossal and massive drain of silver led to a reduction in the price of an ounce in subsequent years. But in 2011, deposits in the metal reached an unprecedented scale, everyone was in a hurry to invest in silver.
This is due to a sharp rise in the price of an ounce in April 2011 - $ 47.8. The heyday of the silver market has reached its apogee, and many scientists and financial experts have started talking about the shortage of silver reserves in the world with unabated industrial demand. Then the same as always - a massive drain of silver, falling prices.
Silver quote in Sberbank of Russia
Three years have passed since then, and the price of an ounce of silver has not reached such a high mark. By the end of 2012, the situation with quotations stabilized for short periods, and then stagnated again.
Read also
Investment in platinum
The slow but steady decline in silver prices continues to this day. Minor jumps do not change anything in the schedule. The dynamics line rushed down.
If not for the crisis, perhaps these predictions would be relevant at this moment. Quite the contrary: everyone is talking about the growing industrial demand for silver, while it lies in warehouses in excess, and it is more than enough to cover the needs of Chinese and American industry. The silver "boom" is not coming, and analysts could not foresee this.
Current silver quotes
Silver quotes are set daily by the London Fixing. London fixing is a procedure during which the cost of any precious metal is agreed upon, according to the dollar exchange rate and other factors. Sets fixing association of traders in the London market of precious metals.
All national banks are equal to the received quotation.
In the Russian Federation, the silver rate is set by the Central Bank, and its price bar changes daily. The Central Bank fixes the price per gram, despite the fact that it is more convenient to measure precious metals in the troy ounce, which is the world standard.
The price in ruble equivalent of 1 gram of silver fluctuates between 40 rubles, namely, 38.49 (purchase) and 38.56 rubles. (sale). Consequently, the cost of a troy ounce is 1197 rubles. With technical analysis, you can see slight fluctuations in the range of 2-5 rubles.
In dollars, the cost of an ounce is equal to 17.23 (purchase) and 17.26 rubles. (sale) on the international silver market. We remind you that investing in silver should be based on an analysis of fundamental factors, since fluctuations in the stock exchange affect the price to a small extent.
Silver prices coming soon
The rosy forecasts associated with the reduction of world silver reserves are not being realized. In general, the trends inherent in the dynamics of prices for silver are reflected in other precious metals.
This was not expected even by the world's leading consulting companies, the main consumers of silver, banks. DeutscheBank predicted first $34, then $20. HSBC predicted a low of $21 per ounce of silver (originally $27). These prices have shifted due to lower demand from Chinese industry. After that, it became clear to many that the value of silver would not jump over $25. $19-20 is the ceiling. But even these figures indicate a revaluation of silver, as the chart stopped at $17 today.
Silver quotes against the dollar
The dynamics of the downtrend is unpredictable, and perhaps the silver price will balance out. A huge amount of metal has accumulated in reserve funds and on the market during the general crisis. Industrial demand has fallen. As for the mining companies, the situation is not optimistic: the extraction of silver is problematic and expensive, the extracted raw materials do not pay off the costs of its extraction. With the high cost of silver, selling it at $20 per ounce is unprofitable.
What can we expect in the future
It is impossible to promise a rapid growth of quotations in 2018. A positive change in the chart at least to the level of $18.8 will make it clear that not all is lost. But many investors, seeing that there is no shortage of silver due to the regression of the world's strongest industrial corporations, are leaving the precious metals market for exchange-traded funds.
Coming from the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation a year and a half ago, I discovered the accumulated funds during my absence from various affiliate programs in the amount of about 50K rubles. Plus, I had more than 100,000 rubles in Sberbank on a book. I began to save this money slowly by reading several books on achieving financial independence a la Rich Dad Poor Dad. Someone, of course, spits on them, saying that these authors only profit from books, but they themselves have not earned a penny. But nevertheless they give the basic concepts. The truths in them seem to be simple, but 95% of people do not reach them with their minds, simply without thinking about the "rat race", assets / liabilities, and so on. I do not remember which of them I got the term "financial airbag", but I liked its idea and I started to create it for myself.
Financial airbag- this is when you have a certain amount of money that will allow you to live for at least six months or a year without significantly reducing your standard of living.
Surprisingly, many people spend all the money they earn, and then bite their elbows when they are fired / lose business, and a new job cannot be found within a month. As for me, it seems that I have accumulated enough money to be able to live just about a year, but a natural question arose: where to put them?
There wasn't much choice. All stocks, bonds, futures and options require careful study and an impressive amount of money.
I don’t know why, but instead of the usual contribution at the standard 10%, I began to look closely at precious metals. Like this is a long-term investment, metals are always in price and are slowly growing.
Gold, platinum, palladium, silver are bought primarily in order to save money, protect themselves from inflation and the depreciation of money.
The precious metals market is more stable compared to the securities market and investments in various funds, be it mutual funds or OFBUs.
If we consider the change in the price of metals over the course of 10 years, then silver (+ 661%) and gold (+ 614.5%) demonstrate the maximum profitability. Platinum has risen in price by almost 320% over 10 years. But palladium is only 152%.
This indicator suggests that in the long run, all metals provide good returns and their purchase is a very profitable investment.
In Russia, there are now several different ways to invest in gold and other precious metals: buying bars, coins, opening a “metal account” in a bank, purchased securities of gold mining companies or gold-backed shares.
Most of these expressions assured me of the reliability of this kind of investment. And as far as I remember, only a couple of dozens of articles I read warned that the economy is cyclical and, in general, metal prices are greatly inflated and do not correspond to the truth. In another note, I read that the prices of gold are inflated and they will soon collapse rapidly, but there is less and less silver on Earth, because. is actively used in industry, in the manufacture of something there for technology, so silver quotes may rise sharply in the next few years. For some reason, I immediately believed and ran to the bank to buy silver.
In my town, despite the presence of a bunch of branches of large banks, only Sberbank carried out operations with precious metals. I decided not to bother and open an account with the CHI - an impersonal metal account, because. when selling, it is not subject to VAT (and this is + 18% to the face value of the metal), and then another and another 13% income tax, unlike physical ingots.
As of July 9, 2012, for the Penza region (they differ), silver could be bought for 31.5 rubles per gram. My savings were just enough for 5 kg of silver = 157,500 rubles. The procedure was quick and painless due to the fact that I had money on the book, also in Sberbank, and the account itself was linked to WebMoney. So the entire amount was simply transferred to compulsory medical insurance, giving me a new book with 5 kg of silver only in numbers:
Nothing foreshadowed trouble, I occasionally looked at the dynamics of changes in quotes, noting that the fluctuations were insignificant and, in fact, the price of silver was at the same level, until at one beautiful moment in the spring of 2013 I saw this picture:
And, unfortunately, it continues to deteriorate today. Today you can buy for 22.9 rubles. per gram, and sell for 19!!! Those. when selling, I will receive only 95,000 rubles, losing 62K rubles as a result.
Investment in gold
Gold, as well as all other precious metals, also fell significantly in price. I calculated here that if I had invested the same money in gold, then I had 90.4 grams in my account (1,742 rubles / gram at that time).
Now gold costs 1256 r/gr, which means I would get 113 542 r. (-44K). Of course, better than the situation with silver, but still bad.
So much for "reliable long-term investment." It’s not that they didn’t save from inflation, but they reduced it by a third. You don't have to be an analyst to understand that there is definitely no hope for a recovery even to the previous rate in the next 5 years.
Summarizing
This is how I wrongly tried to create a financial cushion for myself. Surprisingly, he was practically not upset, because the amount is not so big that he could tear his hair out on his ass. But there was an experience of investing and an understanding that any investment is a risk, and when investing, you need to mentally part with your money, and it makes no sense to read various forecasts and blindly trust them.
Instruction
There are two main ways to invest in silver: physical (bars, coins) and paper (CMI). Silver bars are sold in a number of large banks and their weight starts from 50 grams. To buy, you just need to come with a passport to the department that sells them. All must be marked with weight, year of manufacture, serial number, and . The disadvantages of this form of investment include the payment of VAT upon purchase (18%) and the difficulty in organizing their storage. If you plan to invest a fairly large amount of money in metal, you will have to rent a safe deposit box or arrange a safe at home. In addition, it is a real metal that has all the physical properties. For example, when exposed to air, dark spots of patina may appear on ingots, which reduces its redemption value.
The second type of physical metal is bullion coins. They differ from memorable ones in that if you wish, the bank undertakes to buy them back, their value is as close as possible to the price of the metal on the exchange. Russian investment coins include silver Georgy the Pobedonosets and Sobol, which are offered by almost all major banks. The purchase is made on the spot within a few minutes upon presentation of a passport. The advantages of this type of investment in silver include: no VAT on buying and selling, small size, relative ease of sale. At the same time, all physical metal jobs are preserved. A significant disadvantage is the presence of a spread - the difference between the price of buying and selling coins by a bank.
The third way to invest in silver is OMS (impersonal metal account). In this case, you do not become the owner of the physical metal. By buying it at your bank's selling rate, you accumulate grams in your account. If desired, you can sell it back at the rate on the day of sale. The spread in the case of CHI is somewhat less than that of coins, VAT is also not paid. Significant disadvantages include the fact that CHI does not participate in the deposit insurance system. Therefore, it is better to choose banks from the top ten, otherwise, in the event of a financial cataclysm, you risk being left with only a piece of paper in your hands.
Everyone decides for himself which way of investing in silver suits him best. But it should be remembered that investments in metals are more a means of saving money than a way to increase them. Therefore, the share of this instrument in your investment portfolio should be around 20%. Be prepared for long-term investments, as There are ups and downs in this market.
