A Beginner's Guide to Precious Metals

Since the beginning of time, gold and silver have been recognized as valuable. And even today, precious metals have their place in a savvy investor's portfolio. But which precious metal is best for investment purposes? And why are they so volatile? If you're just getting started with precious metals, read on to learn more about how they work and how you can invest in them. There are many ways to buy precious metals like gold ira, silver and platinum and a number of good reasons why you should give in to treasure hunting.

 

All that glitters is gold

We'll start with the granddaddy of them all: gold. Gold is unique in its durability (it does not rust or corrode), malleability, and its ability to conduct heat and electricity. It has some industrial applications in dentistry and electronics, but we know it primarily as a base for jewelry and as a form of currency.

The value of gold is determined by the market 24 hours a day, almost seven days a week. Gold predominantly trades based on sentiment; its price is less affected by the laws of supply and demand. This is because the new supply from the mine is vastly outweighed by the size of the gold accumulated above ground. Simply put, when hoarders feel like selling, the price goes down. When they want to buy, the new supply is quickly absorbed and gold prices rise. (Learn more at Does it still pay to invest in gold?)

Several factors explain a greater desire to accumulate the yellow metal:

• Systemic Financial Concerns: When banks and money are perceived as unstable and/or political stability is in question, gold has often been sought after as a safe store of value.
• Inflation: When real rates of return in the stock, bond, or real estate markets are negative, people regularly turn to gold as an asset that will hold its value.
• War or political crisis: War and political turmoil have always sent people into gold hoarding mode. A lifetime's savings can be transported and stored until they need to be exchanged for food, shelter, or safe passage to a less dangerous destination.

The Silver Bullet

Unlike gold, silver's price swings between its perceived role as a store of value and its very tangible role as an industrial metal. For this reason, price fluctuations in the silver market are more volatile than gold.

So while silver will trade roughly in line with gold as an item to be accumulated (investment demand), the industrial supply/demand equation for the metal exerts an equally strong influence on price. That equation has always fluctuated with new innovations, including:

• Silver's once predominant role in the photography industry (silver-based photographic film), which was overshadowed by the advent of the digital camera.
• The rise of a vast middle class in the emerging economies of the East, which created an explosive demand for household appliances, medical products, and other industrial items that require silver inputs. From bearings to electrical connections, silver's properties made it a desired product.
• Silver's use in battery, superconductor applications, and microcircuit markets.

It is unclear if (or to what extent) these developments will affect overall non-investment demand for silver. One fact remains; the price of silver is affected by its applications and it is not only used in fashion or as a store of value. (Find out how the everyday items you use can affect your Market Moving Commodities investments.)

 

Platinum bomb

Like gold and silver, platinum trades 24 hours a day on global commodity markets. It tends to fetch a higher price than gold during periods of market rut and political stability, simply because it is so much rarer; much less metal is thrown out of the ground annually. Other factors that determine the price of platinum include:

• Like silver, platinum is considered an industrial metal. The greatest demand for platinum comes from automotive catalysts, which are used to reduce the harmfulness of emissions. After this, jewelry accounts for the most demand. Petroleum and chemical refining catalysts and the computer industry use the rest.
• Due to the auto industry's heavy reliance on the metal, platinum prices are largely determined by car sales and production numbers. "Clean air" legislation could require manufacturers to install more catalytic converters, increasing demand. However, in 2009, American and Japanese automakers began turning to recycled auto catalysts or the use of palladium, the more reliable (and usually less expensive) sister group metal to platinum.
• Platinum mines are highly concentrated in just two countries: South Africa and Russia. This creates further potential for cartel-like action that would support, or even artificially increase, platinum prices.

Investors should consider that all of the above factors serve to make platinum the most volatile metal. (For more on this entire industry, see The Industry Handbook: Precious Metals.)

 

How to fill your treasure chest

Let's take a look at the options available to those who want to invest in precious metals.

• Commodity ETFs – Exchange-traded funds exist for all three precious metals. ETFs are a convenient and liquid means of buying and selling gold, silver or platinum.
• Common Stocks and Mutual Funds – Shares of precious metal miners take advantage of price movements in precious metals. Unless you know how mining stocks are valued, it may be wiser to stick to funds with managers with strong performance records. (For related reading, see Strike Gold with Junior Mining.)
• Futures and Options – Futures and options markets offer liquidity and leverage to investors who want to place large bets on metals. The greatest potential gains and losses can be made with derivative products.
• Bullion – Coins and Bullion are strictly for those who have a place to put them. Certainly, for those who expect the worst, bullion is the only option, but for investors with a time horizon, bullion is illiquid and downright annoying.
• Certificates – Certificates offer investors all the benefits of physical gold ownership minus the hassle of transportation and storage. That said, if you're looking for insurance in a real disaster, certificates are paper only. Don't expect anyone to take them for something of value.

Will precious metals shine for you?

Precious metals offer unique inflation protection: they have intrinsic value, carry no credit risk, and cannot be inflated (cannot be further printed). They also offer genuine "disruption insurance" against financial or political/military disruption.

From an investment theory point of view, precious metals also provide a low or negative correlation with other asset classes such as stocks and bonds. This means that even a small percentage of precious metals in a portfolio will reduce both volatility and risk.

 

Conclusion

Precious metals provide a useful and effective means of diversifying a portfolio. The trick to achieving success with them is knowing your goals and risk profile before you jump in. The volatility of precious metals can be harnessed to build wealth, but left unchecked, it can also lead to ruin.

Positive Psychology - What it is and Exactly how to Utilize It

In the early days, psychology was mainly regarding research. They wanted to comprehend just how reflexes functioned (touch a warm oven ... Ouch! Relocate your hand away), understanding functioned (I see an old lady ... now I see a princess ...) and how habits worked ( pet sees food ... it salivates). When psychology started it had 3 aims: treat and also treat mental disease, assistance 'creative brilliant' or natural born players which back then might have been misinterpreted for mental disorder, and help daily people live better lives - Positive Psychology certificate in positive psychology.

Mental illness came to be a prominent subject after WWI as well as WWII. Psychologists that utilized to play in labs and give talks all day had new profession possibilities. They might treat people who were getting back from battle afflicted by mental disorder. And poof ... A lot of funding and cash poured into examining how to fix what was wrong with people. Well in 2008, we currently understand A LOT concerning what is wrong with people. We have therapies for most mental illnesses and also also some treatments. We likewise understand a lot regarding creative genius, however overall psychology did not know a great deal about your every day Joe. So in 1998 Dr. Martin Seligman produced a brand-new field in psychology ... positive psychology.

Seligman spent the majority of his life studying clinical depression as well as verified that depression is learned. Then he asked, what regarding optimism? For a long time, psycho therapists thought that if you took a individual that was clinically depressed and also took their anxiety away, you 'd have a pleased person. But that's not true. Just because you don't have a cool, does not suggest you are efficiently healthy.

Even if you aren't dispirited does not imply you feel vibrant, cheerful and love your life. The field of positive psychology, often described as the science of happiness, utilizes the same scientific rigor that has actually been related to examining what's wrong with people and exactly how to repair them, to comprehending the breadth of human potential.

Positive psychologists conduct research study on things like positive outlook, durability, grit, hope, pleasure, wonder, staminas, joy, circulation, petition, and also wit. Anybody can apply the research study that has actually come out of positive psychology right into their lives and also professions. Specialists such as psychologists, therapists and life instructors, utilize positive psychology to locate what is currently collaborating with clients and help them build their strengths, find engagement as well as meaning in their life.

They help them really feel better as well as a lot more satisfied. Positive psychology is different than "happiology". We are not advocating individuals more than happy, satisfied, pleased at all times. It's extremely crucial to really feel upset, irritated and also sad when it is appropriate. Positive psychology has to do with what Dr. Tal Ben-Shahar calls, "the authorization to be human."

That is, really feeling all the emotions that humans feel as opposed to attempting to inform ourselves we must be happy regularly. It has to do with allowing on your own to really feel all feelings as they turn up without getting stuck. For a long period of time, psychology did not give people the approval to be human. The area was heavily skewed on the side of mental disorder, positive psychology is about night out the range.

Bringing as much focus to the silver lining of life as we need to the adverse. The research appearing of positive psychology is remarkable. Never ever before have scientists ran double-blind sugar pill studies on things like joy, gratefulness and also positive outlook. Currently, you may be believing, why trouble performing a research study to find out that doing good things for others can assist you feel better? I completely agree with you. Inherently we understand those points are good and also we should do that. But, the number of unpleasant or slightly miserable individuals do you find in your life? The amount of individuals do you understand that head out of their means to do something nice for somebody else?

Even better, go out of their method for a full unfamiliar person? Research study reveals that you can significantly and also instantaneously enhance your joy degree just by doing something good for someone else. These people are happier, have better partnerships, are extra liked by others as well as really feel far better about themselves. Yes, we know that doing these points can profit our lives. Yet we neglect. Or we don't realize the effect it can have on us. Sound scientific research is powerful things. A research showed that sales people that learn skills on becoming more resistant as well as positive were three times extra successful than their depressed equivalents.

If you're a business proprietor, that's a big deal. Study shows that participating in work that allows you to utilize your toughness and also what you are naturally good at not only enables you to be happier yet likewise more efficient. Makes sense right? But how many individuals do you understand that in fact get to do what they are efficient as well as love to do everyday? Positive psychology is one-of-a-kind from self-help and pop psychology.

Its owner Martin Seligman is really clear that positive psychology ought to be descriptive, as opposed to authoritative. Significance, rather than doing research regarding what boosts happiness and afterwards informing people what to do with their lives, positive psychology must define the study on these topics. According to Seligman, individuals perform sound research studies on topics such as resilience, gratitude and petition, figure out how these things influence people and also the devices whereby they function.

Then they educate people on what the research shows. For instance, studies reveal that expressing rises your experience of positive feelings as well as reduces signs and symptoms of anxiety. Grateful people are much more confident about future occasions, really feel a lot more connected with others and also report better top quality rest. As scientists carry out these researches they intend to comprehend the systems associated with gratitude: how does it function? Why does it function?

Positive psychologist say, " reveal people the research study, help them make notified choices about what would certainly function best in their life." This is powerful as well as exceptionally various from recommending or telling individuals just how to live their lives. As a positive psychology based life coach, I incorporate both a descriptive and a authoritative technique. I explain positive psychology based strategies for developing the positive modification clients want to see, as well as I make pointers based on what has actually worked for me and also others.

As a field, positive psychology has actually taken off. Simply Google " joy" + "study" as well as check out how much happiness has actually remained in the media just recently. Attempt words like strength, happiness, wit, strengths, grit, life fulfillment and you'll see that positive psychology is quickly broadening. The official interpretation of positive psychology, a la Wikipedia, is "the clinical study of the toughness as well as virtues that enable individuals and also neighborhoods to grow." Monthly there are a growing number of interesting researches coming out in the field. We have hardly scratched the surface of what we comprehend to be these staminas as well as virtues, nonetheless, positive psychology is transforming people's lives worldwide.